Cao Cao is Dead
by Lolsnake9
Summary: Cao Cao was suddenly found dead, and his right-hand man Xiahou Dun took over as Wei's new leader. Although his death appeared as an accident, some of his officers thought that it was something much more. Soon, many strange events are happening inside the palace, as they came closer to a sinister secret after which their lives would never be the same...
1. The Descent Starts

**Cao Cao is Dead**

* * *

 _One day in Wei, the entire kingdom was thrown into shock as the body of their lord, Cao Cao, was found dead and bloody at the feet of his throne. His right-hand man Xiahou Dun took over as his successor to keep the kingdom running. Although his death was covered up as an unfortunate accident, some of his officers felt that it was perhaps something much more – possibly done by someone of his own circle. However, as more sinister events happened, Xiahou Dun starts to feel that something much more sinister is happening - but does he?_

* * *

 _Chapter 1: The Descent Starts_

* * *

 **CRAAAAKKKKKK!**

A loud, crashing sound was heard across the hallway of the Wei palace at night. The sound was heard by no one but Xun Yu, who stayed up late to organize some scrolls.

"What was that?" he mumbled. No one could possibly stay up that late, he thought. He later dismissed it as minor architectural damage, but moments later, he became concerned again.

"What if it's a thief or even an assassin?," he thought. Finally, he picked up a candle and walked across the hallway towards the source of the sound, trying to be quiet as to not be noticed.

However, seconds later he heard another crashing sound, in which point Xun Yu knew something was up. He was later sprinting down the hallway instead. He finally reached the throne room and opened the door.

The one thing that immediately greeted him upon opening the door was a smell of blood, and his eyed widened in horror.

Through the illumination of his candle, Xun Yu saw splotches of blood everywhere, along with pieces of shattered wood pillars. Still, he tried to remain calm even though he knew full well that something bad had happened.

He followed the trail of blood, which led him to a writing in blood on the wall,

 _ **VICTORY IS OURS**_

Xun Yu was in complete confusion, and thousand questions were stirring inside his head. Moments later, something hit his feet as he was moving to the side.

"AAAAAAHHHHH!", he jumped and screamed by surprise, and immediately covered his mouth upon realizing how loud he was screaming.

"Someone will probably wake up, " he thought. He moved his candle to know what object he had walked into, and skipped a heartbeat upon discovering a pair of feet.

"….no. No, no, no, no, no, no…..", mumbled Xun Yu. He gathered his courage to illuminate the rest of the body. However, he later saw that the face of the bloodied corpse was covered by a white silk sheet. And so Xun Yu removed the sheet, and moved to take a closer look at the face.

"….l-l-lord Cao…C-c-c-cao?!"

Xun Yu widened his eyes in complete shock and horror upon looking at his lord's empty, lifeless eyes. He dropped the candle and dropped to his knees, still in utter disbelief of what he just saw.

"….my lord? M-m-my l-lord? Lord Cao Cao! LORD CAO CAO!", screamed Xun Yu repeatedly. He shook Cao Cao's body back and forth several times in his arms, desperately hoping that it would somehow bring his lord back, reveal that everything's been a mere sick, cruel joke – or perhaps a nightmare.

But no. No matter how he wanted to deny the terrifying reality in front of him, deep down, Xun Yu knew it was real. His lord, Cao Cao, is dead. But this only made him shake Cao Cao's body more and more violently as tears were streaming down his face, all while letting out incoherent screams.

"….aaahhh…Lord Cao Cao…..waaahhhh….aaaahhhhh….AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Meanwhile, the flame of the candle quickly spread around the room, becoming a large fire. But even that seemed unnoticed by Xun Yu, who kept cradling Cao Cao's body in his arms even when the flames surrounded him.

"…..aaaahhh…..aaaaahhhhhh! AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! HWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

.

.

.

Xiahou Dun, who was sleeping, suddenly opened his eyes. He looked around his room suspiciously.

"I thought I heard something….", he said. He wanted to go back to sleep again when the screams from outside became more audible, waking him up again.

"Okay, now what was that?!", he thought. He immediately ran outside down the hall as the screams became louder and louder.

"Pant….gasp….what is going on there?" Finally, he came to the massive fire at the hallway, just outside of the throne room.

"What?! A fire!" Xiahou Dun heard that the screams were coming out of the throne room, which door has been completely burnt off by the fire. He immediately ran past the fire towards the throne room only to be completely shocked at the sight of Xun Yu holding the dead body of Cao Cao, surrounded by fire.

"What?! ARGH!" The fire expanded more that Xiahou Dun was forced to back down. It was during that exact time where Xun Yu turned to Xiahou Dun, eyes wide open with tears flowing.

"What in the-" Soon, fire was everywhere. Xiahou Dun had to do something. He immediately took a bucket of water to put the fire out, but it was no use. The fire became even more aggressive, swallowing everything in their way.

"Tch! No!" Meanwhile, he looked back at Xun Yu, still cradling Cao Cao's dead body and weeping over it. "….X-xun Yu? Is that you?"

Xun Yu turned back to him, still with the tear-filled, widely opened eyes. "…L…lord Xiahou Dun…..he is…..he is…..our lord….our lord is….our lord is…..our lord is-"

"Tch, you! You stay there while I put the fire out!" interrupted Xiahou Dun. He then gathered more water to put the flames out, but it was no use. Xiahou Dun was soon cornered, just when suddenly Guo Jia came to see what was going on.

"Pant….pant…eh, Lord Xiahou Dun?! What is going on?!" he asked. "The fire! Help me put the fire out! Ngh!" Guo Jia nodded his head and immediately gathered water to put the fire out. It was only hours later when they managed to put the entire fire out.

"Pant….pant….Xun…Yu?" They walked closer towards Xun Yu, who was still weeping. Then they both came into a shock when they realized who he was holding.

"Gasp! …L-lord…lord Cao Cao?!", Guo Jia covered his mouth. Xun Yu slowly looked up to them with teary eyes. "…h-he's…..he is…..our lord….our Lord Cao Cao….is…"

But Xun Yu couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence, and instead cried even harder, holding Cao Cao's dead body tighter. Guo Jia also broke down crying, whereas Xiahou Dun was too shocked to even respond with anything.

"…..no. No, no, no….don't tell me that…."

Xiahou Dun then dropped to his knees, unable to believe what was presented right in front of his eyes as other people who were concerned about the sounds in the middle of the night came in to see what was happening.

"What? No, no, no…this can't be real. What…..what happened? There's no way that….Cao Cao…..cousin….died…"

.

.

.

* * *

 _…_

 _…..no._

 _How? And why?_

 _Everything was just fine….._

 _And then….something happened….and….._

 _…._

* * *

"…..my lord? My Lord?"

The voice calling him snapped Xiahou Dun out of his thoughts. He turned and saw that it was Guo Jia.

"Oh….it's just you."

"My lord? Are you alright?"

"…well, mostly."

Both Xiahou Dun and Guo Jia just stood silent for a while before the latter spoke up, "…..is it still about him again?"

Xiahou Dun didn't answer.

"Huff….I just….I don't know. How all of this came to be….I just….", Xiahou Dun held his forehead in frustration.

"My lord-"

"…..Guo Jia. You….we all still remember the last time we see him….right?"

And so their minds recalled the day before they found Cao Cao dead. It was just a normal day of Wei's routine, and nothing out of ordinary was found in Cao Cao's behavior.

"Yes….I still do."

"There was….there was nothing weird about him, right? It was all fine…..but…..but….."

"Ah, m-my lord…please, my lord, listen…..my lord, I know all of this is hard for all of us to endure…..but, you're our new leader now. Do you just want to abandon the wonderful legacy Lord Cao Cao left for us?"

Xiahou Dun looked into Guo Jia's eyes. However, just the mere mention of Cao Cao's name was enough for him to throw him into such an emotional mess that he immediately stormed off.

"Wha-"

"I'm sorry, I just…."

"My lord! I-"

"Enough! Don't…don't talk to me. Not now."

"Lord Xiahou Dun! …."

* * *

Xiahou Dun went quickly to his room and closed the door, panting and then slumping onto the floor.

"Pant….pant….sigh…how can all of this come to be? Nobody knows what happened, and then…..Cao Cao….cousin…..just laid dead…..there."

Immediately the sight of his cousin's corpse came to Xiahou Dun's mind. All the horrifying details, the wide-open, bloodshot eyes, the mutilated body, and the blood pools, which all had been burned onto his very memory.

"Ngh…no…..NO! CAO CAO! …pant….pant…..ngh….no….no….." Xiahou Dun held his head in frustration and despair. Tears soon began to flow from his eyes.

"…..he….Cao Cao…..he's more than just my lord. He, he's…he's my cousin. My friend. I'm…..I'm always there for him. But….but….so soon…."

.

.

.

* * *

 _Cousin…..why?_

 _Why did all of this just happen?_

* * *

Xiahou Dun soon found himself in a dark room.

"….where am I?"

* * *

 _You left us…..you left me like this._

 _All alone._

* * *

He continued to walk.

* * *

 _You….are heartless. Cruel._

 _You always were._

* * *

"….what is this?" he said as he came across a body covered in blood.

"….wait…..no…..can you be….?"

* * *

 _Even…._

* * *

And then he saw Cao Cao's dead body as he was found that one night.

"….what….w-w-what?!"

* * *

 _…..even if you won't come back…._

And then, Xiahou Dun looked down, and saw his own bloody hands holding a knife.

* * *

 _….would you at least give me an answer?_

* * *

"…AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

.

.

.

"WAAAAAAHHHH!" Xiahou Dun woke up panting on his bed. As it turns out, it was all just a dream.

"Pant…pant….it was….it was just a nightmare…..pant…"

"My lord?"

Xiahou Dun turned to the side of his bed and saw Guo Jia.

"My lord….are you….alright?"

"Ah! Ehm….yeah….I'm alright…..it was just a nightmare."

"Sigh….my lord. I've already told you. You…..you don't have to face this alone."

"…..huh?"

"We….we're facing this together. We are all his loyal servants. By doing this, you're only destroying the legacy he's left behind."

Guo Jia held Xiahou Dun's hand.

"…you don't want that, do you?"

Xiahou Dun looked at Guo Jia's eyes.

"….you….you're right. I….I'm sorry for being so selfish earlier. It's just that….."

"It's alright. Come now. We can do this together!" Guo Jia smiled. Xiahou Dun smiled as well.

"Hm….yeah. Alright…oh."

"Yes?"

"And….how's Xun Yu?"

"Ah…..him…." Guo Jia's expression turned grim.

"….he isn't getting better, is he?" said Xiahou Dun.

"Exactly."

"….I see…."

Xiahou Dun remembered the night when Cao Cao was found dead. Out of all the Wei officers, Xun Yu took Cao Cao's death the worst. So much that it seemingly took a toll on his sanity.

 _"….Xun Yu? Xun Yu!" said Zhang Liao. However, Xun Yu didn't answer._

 _"Hey! Come on now! Put Lord Cao Cao's body down!"_

 _"What?! NO!"_

 _"You have to! Otherwise we wouldn't be able to conduct a proper-"_

 _"NO! GO AWAY! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!"_

 _"…sigh….so it has to be this way….." Zhang Liao snapped his fingers and Xu Huang and Yu Jin stepped forward, who then forcibly dragged Xun Yu away._

 _"I'm sorry….."_

 _"Huh?! Wait, NO! STOP IT!"_

 _"But if you don't cooperate…."_

 _"NO! LET ME GO! AAAAAAAHHHHHH! STOP IT! STOP IT! LISTEN! LISTEN, ALL OF YOU! VICTORY IS OURS! VICTORY IS OURS, I KNEW IT! THE TRUTH WILL BE REVEALED!"_

"Sigh…..I hope he gets better soon." said Xiahou Dun.

"We all do. We're all worried for him."

"Huff….right."

"And that's why you can't just stay like this all the time. Think about Xun Yu. If you want him to get better, we have to do something."

"….you're right."

* * *

 _That's right….what have I been thinking this entire time? Of course cousin would be disappointed in me like this._

 _I have to make sure that his ambition and dreams won't go to waste…._

 _That's the right thing to do…_

 _…_

* * *

"Lord Xiahou Dun, it is time."

"Right! Just a minute."

Today is the day when Xiahou Dun will give his first speech towards the other Wei officers, to reaffirm his position as the new leader.

 _Cousin….I'll show you. I'll show you that I'll never give up in continuing your legacy._

 _Never…._

* * *

And so Xiahou Dun walked into the great hall, where all of the other Wei officers gather to hear his speech.

However, as he walked towards the platform, he noticed how Cao Pi and Jia Xu were whispering something to each other while looking at Xiahou Dun with a rather suspicious look.

"Ngh, it's alright, it's alright." he thought to himself. "Even if those two disapprove of me, I will lead what cousin has left for better."

And so he stepped on the platform and took a deep breath. He turnd to the side to see Guo Jia, who nodded at him approvingly.

"…ahem. Okay. So….we all know what happened. Our Lord Cao Cao has suddenly passed away due to an unfortunate accident. And…."

However, suddenly Xiahou Dun stopped short.

"…..and….and….ehm….ngh…."

The other Wei officers soon began wondering what had happened.

"….uhh….my lord?" whispered Guo Jia.

"What? What is….this feeling? I…I feel….."

Suddenly, he saw blood leaking out everywhere while everyone else were transformed into faceless puppets. His eyes widened in terror as he slowly walked back down in fear.

"…..ah….ahh….AHHHH! AAAAAHHHHHH!"

"What?! My lord, MY LORD! LORD XIAHOU DUN! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?! Gah, everyone! Help him!"

"Gasp….gasp….aaahhhhhhh!"

"MY LORD! My lord, can you hear me! Hey, hey, hey! Lord Xiahou Dun…"

.

.

.

"GASP!" Xiahou Dun opened his eyes and yet again found himself inside his room on his bed. However, this time no one was around.

"Pant….pant….what was that?", he thought. "Am I….am I going crazy? Like Xun Yu?"

Xiahou Dun turned to his side when he found a stack of scrolls. He picked them up and found that they are Cao Cao's journal.

"Gasp! This was…..this was cousin's journal….." thought Xiahou Dun. Suddenly, an idea came to him.

"…perhaps….perhaps this can actually reveal everything? Or something? Anything at all?" And so he opened.

"….huh, this one was from a week ago. _'My name is Cao Cao. Everything's been normal this day. Infact, better than before. Today I feel especially confident that I can accomplish anything, but…..'_ "

 ** _…today, something happened to me._**

 ** _Something that would likely change my life._**

 ** _Forever._**

 **To Be Continued….**

* * *

AYEEEE! Rised from another hiatus! Been gone so long since I didn't have any particularly clever ideas, but anyway! Here you go!

So yeah…..deciding to change the tone a little bit now. I've been a bit fascinated with horror as of lately, so I just came up with this idea.

Anyways, please leave a review and have a good day!


	2. Tales the Dead Tell

_Chapter 2: Tales the Dead Tell_

* * *

Xiahou Dun's eyes widened as he read the last sentence.

"What? …wait a minute."

He quickly turned to the next page.

" _'Earlier this day, I was walking down the hallway when I came across something that's nothing short of frightening. Suddenly all the candles went out. And not long after, strange blue flames lit up and I saw someone else at the end of the hallway. Thinking that it's possibly an assassin, I put up my guard. However, the mysterious figure just kept on standing there limply, looking as if he's a revived corpse.'_ …"

Xiahou Dun could feel chills running up his spine as he read the paragraph. However, he kept on reading.

" _'I asked who he was, but he did not answer. I carefully walked up towards him….and then I saw that it was none other than me, all bloody in a robe.'_ …."

Xiahou Dun's eyes widened in horror.

"…..wh…what?! Cao Cao….did…..did he actually….?"

He kept on reading.

" _'I, in my shock, swung a spear at him, but suddenly I had a blackout and collapsed to the floor. When I woke up, everything was back to normal. My look-a-like was gone. I stood there for a few while, wondering as to what on earth had happened...'_ …..no way….did cousin truly see this? Then, why didn't he tell me, or anyone else? ….tch….."

Xiahou Dun decided to close the scrolls and went outside the room. He turned to the right where he saw Guo Jia and Jia Xu talking.

"….but, Jia Xu!"

"Look, I understand what you mean, but just look at him! Do you really think-"

"Jia Xu, please…

"…."

"Sigh…you see, I know. I know you have had a lot of disagreements with Lord Xiahou Dun in the past and even with the late Lord Cao Cao, but is that even relevant now?"

"No, Young Master, you're missing my poi-"

"No! Look it here, no matter what objections you may have with Lord Xiahou Dun, just let them go, okay? He's our lord now, and he's taking care of this kingdom. This kingdom needs you. You care about it as much as I do. You know it!"

"…..sigh….okay, I understand. I understand what you mean- and do you think I intend to doom this kingdom? No! But, just hear me out here, I sincerely do not think that Lord Xiahou Dun is-"

Jia Xu, however, stopped when he noticed that Xiahou Dun is now standing right in front of him and Guo Jia. Guo Jia turned to Jia Xu to give him a signaling nod, and they bowed.

"My lord."

"…Guo Jia. What…what happened?" asked Xiahou Dun.

"Oh. That…..you….suddenly collapsed. You stepped up to that platform and then you started panicking, as if you saw….something…..and blacked out immediately."

"…..oh. I see…."

"Ehm, my lord, I'm deeply sorry that I wasn't waiting for you to wake up. Ehm…Jia Xu wanted me outside to talk about something….",said Guo Jia while looking at Jia Xu anxiously.

"Hrmh….I see….sorry for causing a lot of trouble."

"Oh, no, it's alright! Ehm…."

Meanwhile, Jia Xu leered at Xiahou Dun with a suspicious look, before saying, "What did you see at that time?"

"It was…." Xiahou Dun stopped while remembering the horrifying vision he saw, which made him sick just by remembering it again.

"….it was….I don't know. I…..I don't want to talk about it."

"Was it really that bad?" asked Guo Jia.

"I…I honestly don't know. I…..I'm sorry."

Xiahou Dun swiftly went back to his room.

"Wha?! My lord!", Guo Jia quickly followed. Jia Xu, as well, followed him, but was stopped by Guo Jia.

"Huh?"

"I think it's better if you stay here."

"What? Why?"

"Just…..just listen to me. Please."

Stunned, Jia Xu followed Guo Jia's advice and stayed out of the room. He sighed.

"….never thought it's gotten this bad, huh….."

He turned and walked across the hallway, thinking.

"And now….if we let him too long it'll be too difficult to remove him once it gets way out of hand…especially with Master Guo Jia always supporting him, it can get pretty hard. Hmm…."

* * *

Inside the room, Xiahou Dun was once again deeply distressed.

"My lord!"

"Huh?"

"Sigh….please, how many times do I have to tell you this?"

"But I just! …"

"Please….we need you. If you can't get over it then-"

"What were you talking about with Jia Xu earlier?"

"What?"

"What, what were you talking about with him? What did he say?"

Guo Jia was silent.

"…..he…..uh…"

"Tell me! …..what….what did he say?"

Again, Guo Jia was hesitant. Although moments later, he spoke.

"He…..uh….he said how he expressed doubts in you."

"…heheheh. Well, the usual stuff. Nothing new."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, you know it yourself. We were never peaceful with one another. We always disagreed, so it's no surprise. Well, why did he doubt me, exactly?"

"Well….he expressed concerns in you becoming our leader after what happened earlier today."

"Hmm…okay, you know, I think he might actually have a point."

"But he said that we would have to remove you immediately! I mean…that would cause instability and even more chaos to this kingdom."

"Hm….I see. Still, I wouldn't blame him, though. Infact, I'm pretty sure the others are starting to doubt me as well. Even I doubt myself. Can I really do this? Sigh…."

"My lord! Sigh…look, if you're wasting time doubting yourself, then you won't be a good leader to this kingdom! I've told you already!"

"I know! Sigh….I, I want to lead these people. The people that Cao Cao has left me behind. But….but if this kept going on, then how can I focus on this?"

"…..my lord, you're probably still grieving over Lord Cao Cao. I've told you before, just….just let it go. I know, it's hard for me too, but we have to!"

"….."

"Please…."

"…..sigh…..alright. I'll…..I'll try."

"We'll do it together."

"….hm. Thank you. I know that you'll always support me. No wonder Cao Cao trusted you the most."

"My greatest pleasure."

* * *

It was later on, and Xiahou Dun was reading Cao Cao's journal, continuing from where he left off.

" _'And then, suddenly all the confidence that I previously had disappeared. I felt empty for the rest of the day. I don't feel anything – not even sadness. Just….nothing. The terrifying sight haunted me for the rest of the day. I was wondering what it could even mean – certainly not well. Was it mere illusion, a manifestation of my own fear of death coming close to me when it really isn't, or was it actually a premonition, that death really IS coming for me? No answer came to me. And then I looked back at everything I've accomplished, everything I've built up to this point. Will this mean that I have to leave all of this behind? Thoughts of all kinds are still stirring inside my mind and I could only write to such an extent on paper. I'm normally not the one to worry for the future, but only now, I'm honestly anxious.'_ …..huff….why….why didn't he tell us any of this? Perhaps….perhaps if he had…maybe…ngh…."

Xiahou Dun turned to the next page, which was bloodstained.

"…blood?... _'A day after I saw that horrifying vision, I suddenly got sick. I have a headache and my entire body feels so tired. Infact, I'm so sick, that I literally can't do anything than to lay in my bed and rest. I can't let anyone else know about this, of course, I just told them that I had a lot of work to be done. But, truly…does this have anything to do with the thing I saw yesterday? I don't know….come to think of it, I'm probably just overthinking it, which is why I got sick at the first place. Maybe if I just…..let it go…..'_ "

Xiahou Dun turned to the next page, which was however torn off.

"What? …..sigh…..so that all that I can know. Huff…..what was all this stuff? Was there truly something else much greater behind all of this? His death wasn't just an accident? What, why, ngh…..sigh….so many questions…..huff…."

Xiahou Dun went outside and walked down the hallway while still thinking.

"Huff…..so….were those the only things he managed to write before he died? Or….maybe he wrote some more, but tore them off. But why? Could it be….no, there's no way that could happen. Heh…there's no such thing as supernatural forces. That's just-"

Suddenly, the entire hallway went dark, and only a few seconds later the candles lit up again.

"What?! What happened?! …..who's there?"

There was no response. Xiahou Dun kept on walking until he suddenly saw a shadowy figure standing at the far end of the hallway.

"….what…"

The figure kept on standing there, limply, looking somewhat lifeless.

"What the…..who are you?!"

The figure said not a word, continuing to stand there like a living corpse. Xiahou Dun then carefully walked closer to the figure to take a closer look, and became even more horrified when he saw that it was none other than Cao Cao, all bloodied and dead.

"…..what the…..Cao Cao?….no….NO! I….I remember you….you….you were what Cao Cao saw. He thought that he was going to die because of you. Just….JUST WHO ARE YOU?!"

Again, the Cao Cao look-a-like was silent, which only drove Xiahou Dun into even more incoherent breakdown.

"Why….after you appeared to him, now you appear to ME?! WHAT DO YOU WANT?!"

Unable to handle it anymore, Xiahou Dun ran towards the figure at full speed to strike him down, but at the moment of impact the figure disappeared and there was an earthquake.

"GRAAAAAAAAA- wait, what?! Where did he go- AAAAAHHH! An earthquake! Ngh, AARGHH! Rrghh…I….can't…."

And then, the earthquake suddenly stopped, and everything was back to normal. Xiahou Dun was utterly bewildered and frightened.

"….gasp….pant….pant….what…what…."

He ran towards the bathroom and washed his face. He looked up and looked at the mirror.

"….pant….pant….that…..that didn't happen, right? …..no, there's no way that could have happened. How, how could have I witnessed the very same thing Cao Cao wrote about. That's…I…..I must be too tired. Or am I in yet another nightmare? Been having a lot of those…sigh…"

Xiahou Dun wiped his hand across the mirror, and when he looked back, his hand was stained with blood.

"Wh- WHA!"

He jumped back with shock, though when he looked back, the blood is gone. His eyes widened in horror.

"….pant….pant…ngh. Okay. That….that definitely was a mere illusion. Nothing to worry about. Ngh…."

Xiahou Dun went outside to the hallway, from which end he heard a loud scream coming from one of the rooms. A rather familiar one, at that.

"YOU ALL DON'T UNDERSTAND!", the same voice spoke out. Xiahou Dun sighed.

"He's really not getting better, is he?"

And thus, he walked towards the room, guarded by Zhang Liao and Yu Jin.

"Hm? Ah! My Lord!", Zhang Liao and Yu Jin bowed before Xiahou Dun.

"Sigh...so...anything on him? At all?", Xiahou Dun asked.

"Ehm...not really.", replied Zhang Liao.

"He's just the same as he's always been before. Screaming and babbling incoherent things, sometimes even smashing the walls and the doors, and then curling up into a ball in the corner...", said Yu Jin.

"...and everytime we open the door and try to reason with him, he would suddenly lunge at us and try to harm us while screaming incoherent things at us. I...I don't think he's getting better, only worse.", continued Zhang Liao. Xiahou Dun sighed again, troubled by the situation.

"...fine, then. I'll try to talk to him.", said Xiahou Dun. Both Zhang Liao and Yu Jin were shocked.

"W-wha?! You?!"

"B-but, my lord, he is-"

"I know!", interrupted Xiahou Dun. "I know...but what else can we do?"

The two became silent. Xiahou Dun then went to peek inside the room. Inside the room was Xun Yu doing his usual routine: going berserk and ruining everything inside the room, before curling up into a fetal position and crying. The sight was too unbearable to look at for Xiahou Dun, but he knew he had to do something.

"Ehm...hey...Xun Yu! Listen to me!", he said. Xun Yu turned to him, and Xiahou Dun noticed how awful his appearance was. He had bags under his eyes, looked pale and looked as if he's lost several weight.

"...ah...w...who? Who are you?!", Xun Yu answered, trembling.

"It's...it's me! Xiahou Dun, your lord-"

"...my...m-my lord?! MY LORD! My lord is...my lord...is Cao Cao. LORD CAO CAO! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

"What the- no, NO! XUN YU! LISTEN TO ME! ...okay. Just, stay calm, okay. Lord Cao Cao...is gone, oka-"

"NOOOOOOOOO! LORD CAO CAOOOOOOO! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

And Xun Yu was thrown into yet another rage fit, running around and throwing objects around the room. Xiahou Dun, yet again sighed, never expecting that Xun Yu's situation would get this bad.

"Xun Yu! XUN YU! My goodness...HEY! STOP IT! LISTEN! TO! ME!"

Xun Yu immediately stopped, staring at Xiahou Dun with lifeless eyes.

"Sigh...please, PLEASE Xun Yu...cooperate! What...what happened to you? What happened to the Xun Yu who once aided Lord Cao Cao to victories? Why?"

Xun Yu was stunned at the question. He stood silent for a few seconds before slumping back down into a fetal position. Seeing as how he's calmed down, Xiahou Dun dared himself to enter the room. Although Zhang Liao and Yu Jin were worried that Xun Yu would assault Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Dun assured them that it would be okay.

And so, Xiahou Dun approached Xun Yu, who was still trembling in a fetal position.

"Sigh...look, you've been worrying us ever since...ever since that night. You can't stay like this forever. We...we need you. I need you. How are we supposed to take care of this kingdom that Lord Cao Cao left us, with you doing...this?"

Xun Yu, however, remained silent.

"...hey! Did you listen to me? I-"

"I...I could've actually helped...you guys...", Xun Yu finally answered, which stunned Xiahou Dun. BEfore he could reply however, Xun Yu continued, "Although...although what would be the purpose...at this point? ...it's...it's futile..."

"Futile?! What are you talking abou-", suddenly, Xiahou Dun's collar was yanked by Xun Yu who proceeded to drag Xiahou Dun's face close towards him. "I SAW IT! I...I SAW IT!"

"W-wha?! What did you see-"

"THEM! I SAW THEM! You...you didn't know...during that horrible night...I saw...I saw what seemed to be death itself, lurking in the corner at the night our Lord died! They...they might be the one who killed Lord Cao Cao at the first place! AND THEY WILL BE COMING FOR US TOO!"

"What the- Xun Yu, CALM DOWN! 'They'? Who are 'they'?! What are you even talking about-"

"EXACTLY! So why...so why even bother trying to maintain this kingdom if an otherworldly force is going to destroy it all? We, as mere humans can't do nothing to stop it...and...and we probably deserve it, as well. We've done many horrible things in the past to build this magnificent kingdom...and now, we'll get the punishment we that was coming for us-"

"Gah, XUN YU! QUIT IT!"

Xun Yu stared at Xiahou Dun with shock.

"Sigh...what...what are you even talking about? First of all, there's no such thing as an 'otherworldly force', okay? You...you probably were merely seeing things because of how messed-up your current state of mind is right now. And, second, you know full well that all of the things we did in the past was necessary to unite the land and end the chaos! You supported Cao Cao for that! We did nothing wrong here!"

"You...you accused me of 'seeing things', but you'd be lying if you didn't see those 'things' yourself."

Xiahou Dun was shocked. "W...what do you mean?"

"There's no need to hide it any longer, my lord,", said Xun Yu. "You saw it as well...it's a proof that 'they're' already roaming inside this palace, waiting to deliver us our punishment...starting from Lord Cao Cao."

Xiahou Dun was sweating. _No way...how could he know?!_

"I, I-"

"Please...just leave now, my lord,", interrupted Xun Yu. "It's no use talking about this at the moment...they're watching us..."

Xiahou Dun felt chills running down his spine. He looked around the room for a while, discovering nothing, which made him even more horrified. He sighed.

"...fine.", and so he left the room, with Xun Yu still sitting on the ground, trembling.

"So?", asked Zhang Liao outside.

"...nothing.", was the answer.

"Really? You got nothing out of him?", asked Yu Jin.

"No...I tried to convince him to just break all this nonsense, but it was no use."

"So what should we do?", asked Zhang Liao.

"Sigh...I don't know. We'll probably just have to give him more time."

Despite that, Xiahou Dun was actually still quite disturbed by what Xun Yu said. _Is it true? He...he knows that I too, have been seeing weird stuff. But how? ...I...I kept reassuring myself, that all of this is just some stupid, sick joke...but what if he's actually true?_ ** _That something...something evil, and inhuman...was the one kicking off this whole thing...and is now waiting for us, within the palace corridors..._**

 **To Be Continued...**

* * *

YAAAAAAHHHH! I'M BACKITY-BACK, BITCHESSS!

Okay, okay, I know, I KNOW, I know it may have seemed that I have been kidnapped or murdered due to this god-awfully long hiatus in continuing this fic without even noticing you guys, but I'm just sorry! I've been busy with school stuff lately, and my dad also borrowed my laptop for quite a long time which prevented me from writing. Once again, I'm sorry! You may punish me if you want!

Ahem, okay! So, I promise that I will return to my regular schedule of a chapter a day! So skipping! If I broke my promise, I would down an entire bottle of pure alcohol, because I hate myself ***SMACK!*** Ehh no, just kidding. But really! I can assure you I will try to remain consistent with my uploads from now on!

Anyway, please leave a review and have a good day!


	3. Haze

_Chapter 3: Haze_

* * *

"I suppose that's it for today.", said Jia Xu to Guo Jia, as they were seen finishing sorting scrolls.

"Uhh…hold on. I need to sort out more."

"Really? You want to stay longer?"

"….y-yes….", Guo Jia answered. Jia Xu looked at Guo Jia for quite some time, before replying, "….y'know….you're starting to worry me."

"Huh?", Guo Jia turned to Jia Xu, and immediately the latter could see Guo Jia's strained look.

"Well, I mean….look at you! Seemed to me that you've been working too hard."

"Is that so?...", however, Guo Jia remained working afterwards. Jia Xu, who saw that it was useless to persuade him further, decided to leave Guo Jia to his own businesses, before Guo Jia started to collapse.

"Huh? Master Guo Jia!", though luckily, Jia Xu was able to catch and sustain Guo Jia just in time, who was gasping and breathing. Jia Xu shook his head and said, "See, I told you!"

"…erngh….I….I'm sorry…"

"If anything you should be apologizing to yourself.", Jia Xu helped Guo Jia stand up. "Truly, you've become really worrying. Why?"

"I'm really sorry, but…..but….this is my way of devoting myself to help Lord Xiahou Dun, ever since Ord Cao Cao's passing…."

Jia Xu raised his eyebrow. "Really? That's….your reasoning for risking yourself?"

"Huh?"

"I….I don't know what to say about this, Young Master, considering that I was never in good terms with him, but…..your devotion to him is really worrying."

"But he's our lord! Why wouldn't yo-"

"I know, I know! That's why I tried to carefully state it so that I won't appear as a traitor, or some sort…but really, you never did this sort of thing when Lord Cao Cao was here. It's as if….you've changed."

Guo Jia didn't answer. Instead, he remembered what happened the day before.

* * *

 _Guo Jia was walking down the hallway, while thinking, "Sigh….I'm concerned about Lord Xiahou Dun. Oh well, he's capable enough. But still, who could've possibly done this? All of a sudden, and Lord Cao Cao is dead….it's making less sense the more I think about it…."_

 _And suddenly, Guo Jia heard sudden banging noise from across the hallway, followed by lots of loud crashing noises and screams. He was so surprised and frightened that he immediately turned back to hide behind a wall._

 _"….what….is that?!", he mumbled. After a while the noise died out, and only then Guo Jia stepped out to walk again, though he now felt incredibly uneasy._

 _"…the corridors feel a bit….haunting, somehow…..", he said. He carefully took steps forward, and only a second later he heard another loud scream, which startled him._

 _"What the?! Who is that?!", he said. He immediately cast away all of his fears and ran towards the source, determined to know who it is. "It could be a thief, or even an assassin…."_

 _He continued to run until he ran onto someone, which turned out to be no other than Xiahou Dun himself._

 _"W-wha?! My lord!"_

 _"Guo Jia? What are you-"_

 _"O-oh! I…I'm so sorry, my lord! It's just that….it's just that I heard some really loud, frightening noise when I was walking down here, and….and I was concerned, so I ran to check out who it was…"_

 _"Oh…..that. It was Xun Yu, actually."_

 _"Xun Yu?! Is he better now?", Guo Jia asked. However, Xiahou Dun's expression turned grim. Guo Jia immediately caught on at what happened._

 _"….he isn't, is he?"_

 _"Sigh….I, am not really sure. I tried to talk him out of this nonsense, but he…..just refused to."_

 _"Refused?! How?! Does he not know that without him, this kingdom would-"_

 _"That's what I tried to tell him! But….he just went saying some nonsensical blabbering, and I don't know if it's going to end anytime soon!"_

 _"So what are we supposed to do?"_

 _"Well…..", Xiahou Dun sighed. "If anything….we can at least understand why he's acting like this."_

 _"Really? Why?", Guo Jia asked. Xiahou Dun didn't answer, and instead immediately grabbed Guo Jia's arm to follow him somewhere._

 _"H-huh? My lord! Why-"_

 _"We're gonna talk about this in my room."_

 _"But why?!"_

 _Xiahou Dun didn't answer. Soon, they reached Xiahou Dun's room, which owner locked the door shut._

 _"Huff…okay. So….this is what Xun Yu talked about."_

 _And Xiahou Dun told the full account to Guo Jia, which utterly confused the latter._

 _"…..what?"_

 _"Exactly!", said Xiahou Dun. "I told him that it was utter nonsense, and yet…."_

 _"Oh….okay. But still, why must you talk about this in private?"_

 _"Because….well, because at first I thought it was utter nonsense, and I told everyone else that it was utter nonsense, and that it might have been just Xun Yu going completely mad and unable to accept Cao Cao's death after that night….but….", Xiahou Dun looked down._

 _"…..but what?"_

 _"…..but…what if he's right?"_

 _"What? What do you mean?"_

 _"Sigh….the thing is….the thing is, after I called him out on this nonsense, he told me how I've seen 'those things' as well."_

 _"What?! Did you really?"_

 _"Well….come to think of it, ever since that incident I've seen a lot of weird things, but….I've always thought that I'm just merely tired. But, now, the fact that he knows about this….."_

 _"….uhm…."_

 _"And so, Guo Jia….the reason I talked to you about this in private….is because you're the only person I can trust in, you know. You've always believed what I say, and if I say this to anyone else, they'd think I was insane, like Xun Yu! Sigh….."_

 _The two were silent for a few minutes, staggered._

 _"…sigh….uhm….my lord…."_

 _"What….what should I do, Guo Jia? Everything has become downhill so quick after Cao Cao died!"_

 _Normally, Guo Jia was able to give some advice or at least an encouragement to his lord, but this time even he was too baffled to say anything._

 _"…..uhm, my lord, maybe-"_

 _"You know what….I've probably gone way overboard with this. Heh. Who knows….perhaps nothing of this is real. Perhaps Xun Yu is just insane. Perhaps I'm insane. Perhaps….we're all just in a terrible nightmare….and then, we'll hopefully wake up, where none of this even happened at the first place."_

 _"…."_

 _"….sigh….but really….maybe if we could just….ignore all of this….it'll all go away….someday.", Xiahou Dun turned to Guo Jia. "You may go out now if you want."_

 _And thus Guo Jia quietly walked outside the room. This is the first time he felt truly worried about his lord._

 _"Sigh….now I'm really concerned about him. This is getting way out of hand….but how? Is Xun Yu right? Did he actually see the truth? But…..argh, I don't understand! …..this has gotten worse. I clearly can't just stand idle. I have to help Lord Xiahou Dun and serve him loyally to maintain this kingdom! I have to work harder than ever!", he thought._

 _Moments later however, he felt a sharp pain in his chest and started coughing, only to see blood on his hand._

 _"Hhh….however….however short time….I may have….."_

* * *

At present, Guo Jia quickly walked to and entered his room.

"Huff…..that was close. Either way….I can't reveal that to anyone. This as between me and Lord Xiahou Dun, alone.", he said.

Guo Jia decided to take a break after a long day. However, he saw something on his table. When he took a closer look, he was shocked upon seeing a bloody knife laid on his table.

"…..w-what…..?", he mumbled as he picked it up. The knife looked shiny and looked as if it had been used rather recently.

"….what the….I don't…..I don't remember…..", he trembled as he looked at the knife. "Who….who put this here?! I….I never used it to…..tch!"

Guo Jia quickly ran to wash the knife of the blood, but no matter what he did, the blood couldn't be washed off.

"What the…..what is this?! I can't wash it off! Tch, what should I do? If….if someone sees me with this…."

And then, Guo Jia decided that it was the best choice at the time to hide the knife under his bed.

"Nobody would notice this.", he mumbled. Meanwhile, he was still shocked and confused by a bloody knife suddenly appearing inside his room.

"Huff….what is that? Why is a bloody knife suddenly inside my room? Did someone place it here? Why would they? Ngh…huff…..know what, I'll….just take a sleep. Been tired due to a long day's work, anyway…"

* * *

And so Guo Jia went to sleep. Suddenly however, he felt water dropping on his face.

"…ngh….what? Is the roof leaking again?"

When he opened his eyes however, he noticed that it was blood. And when he turned his head around, he noticed that his entire room is now covered in blood.

"….AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

And suddenly, his entire vision became blurry – and in an instant, everything was back to normal.

"….what….the…..?"

He immediately went back to sleep – this time closing his eyes real tight, not intending to open it even if something happens.

"It's just a nightmare…just a nightmare, and if I go back to sleep again, I won't see it again….I. Won't. See. It. Again.", he mumbled, over and over.

* * *

And the morning came. When Guo Jia woke up, he felt a rather terrible headache, unlike any other days.

"Ngh….what…"

He tried to stand up, but nearly fell down.

"Ack! Gasp….pant….pant…."

After a while, however, his headache was gone.

"Ngh….well, that was fast. Wonder what's all that for. Sigh…."

And so he walked outside, towards the hallway. After a while later, however, his vision suddenly became all blurry again.

"Hmph….ngh…what the…..ah…."

Suddenly, someone hit his shoulder from behind, which surprised Guo Jia.

"AH!"

"WHOA! Hey, morning! No need to be so surprised!"

Guo Jia turned and it was none other than Xiahou Yuan.

"….oh."

"Haha, yeah, by the way, how are you?"

"I'm….fine. Thanks for asking, by the way."

"Yeah…..by the way you look tired. Did you overwork yourself?"

"Eh? Really?"

"Yeah! Come on now, I appreciate your hardworking attitude, but rest is important too, you know."

"Ehm….okay…thank you. Now, if you would excuse me-"

"Hey, wait!"

"Huh?"

"Um…by the way….", Xiahou Yuan walked closer. "Have you noticed anything wrong with Brother Dun lately?"

"Huh?", Guo Jia was stunned. Even though he knew very well that nothing has exactly been 'okay', he tried to remain as calm as possible. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know….I just saw him this morning, and he looked awful. He doesn't really look like himself anymore….I asked him what was wrong, and he insisted that it was nothing….well, the only thing I could figure out is that he must be really stressed out."

"Ah….right. Especially since Lord Cao Cao died so suddenly. We all mourn for Lord Cao Cao, but, of course Lord Xiahou Dun took it rather hard…."

"Yeah,", said Xiahou Yuan. "As well as Xun Yu. Just locked up inside that room. I feel bad for him."

"Yeah…."

"Huff….oh well, I'd better get going. Take a rest if you're tired!", and so Xiahou Yuan left.

Guo Jia sighed. For some reason he suddenly felt uneasy.

"Huff….I feel uneasy in these corridors….exactly the same as before."

And thus he walked down. He continued walking down, when he suddenly heard a loud noise, seemingly from the roof.

"Who's there?!", he exclaimed. But he got no response. He continued walking down, this time a bit more carefully. Then he heard the same noise again.

"What the- HEY!"

And suddenly, the entire hallway turned red, and a shadowy figure appeared at the end of the hallway.

"What the?!"

And then, Guo Jia's vision turned blurry as the shadowy figure summoned floating bloody knives. And then, the shadowy figure disappeared as the entire palace seemed to have been tilted to the right, causing Guo Jia to get thrown to the right end of the hallway.

"W-WHAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

And just as Guo Jia was trying to regain his balance, the floating bloody knives are now falling onto him, as well.

"Ngh…huh? AAAAAACKKK!"

He managed to avoid getting impaled, though barely as the palace turned to normal again.

"…..pant….pant…what….the….HELL?!"

Guo Jia took the bloody knives that pinned his clothes to the wall. He was still utterly baffled and horrified by what he's just seen.

"Pant….pant…..no….that…what happened? No, no…..I…I must be losing it. No way. Who was that? And how….how did he do that?!"

Guo Jia tried to walk again, though he had a headache as his vision became blurry again.

"….ngh…..my…..head…..ah…ah…."

.

.

.

 **To Be Continued….**

* * *

Another chapter! See, told ya I would keep my promise! *SMACK!* Haha, nah, just kidding! Anyways, please leave a review and have a good day!


	4. Signs of Darkness

_Chapter 4: Signs of Darkness_

* * *

"And that's it all for today. Make sure to do your job correctly!", instructed Xiahou Dun towards the Wei Generals. "Remember! We all have to work hard to maintain this kingdom after Cao Cao's passing. We have to work even harder than before! No mistakes!"

"Understood!"

"Okay! Now, this meeting is over.", said Xiahou Dun as he left. On his way back, he met Guo Jia.

"My lord."

"Ah, it's you. How's everything going?"

"It's going smoothly, sir."

"Ah, good, good,", said Xiahou Dun patting Guo Jia. "That's good to hear. Uhm….by the way, I haven't seen you anywhere until this afternoon. Why?"

Guo Jia was stunned for a while.

"….ummm…."

"What? Are you sick? If you're sick, you should take a re-"

"Yeah, yeah, I….was kinda sick. I overslept for a bit, so um….but, it's alright. I'm fine now."

"Hmmm…..", Xiahou Dun looked at Guo Jia for a while. "Is that so? You look tired."

"No, no, no, I'm fine, really….."

"Hmph…..really? Well, in that case, fine. Just remember to take a rest if you're really tired."

"Understood, my lord.", replied Guo Jia. He looked at Xiahou Dun's face, but he saw a sudden, brief flash of Cao Cao's shadow, which surprised him.

"Gasp! …"

"Huh? Guo Jia, what's wrong?"

"….uhhh….ummm….no, i-it's nothing."

"….you're starting to worry me. I know that you love to work hard and all, but…you mustn't neglect your own personal health as well."

"I understand, my lord. I appreciate you worrying for me, but it's alright."

"Hmph. Okay.", said Xiahou Dun as he walked off, with Guo Jia continuing to look at him with a sad look.

"….sigh….my lord…"

* * *

 _Guo Jia recalled the morning earlier. After he was nearly killed by the horrifying vision, his vision became blurry and he suddenly blacked out. When he woke up, he found himself inside a different, red-tinted hallway._

 _"….gasp! ….ngh….what…is this place? ….."_

 _Guo Jia walked down in the hallway until he a spotlight came down on a person curling up into a ball on the floor, mumbling things._

 _"…it's….ov-over….it's finally….over….over….finally over….."_

 _"…uhm….sir?"_

 _The spotlight turned off, and it turned on again, this time lighting down on Xiahou Dun himself._

 _"Huh?! My lord!", he ran after his lord, but the more he ran, the farther he became from his own lord. It was until the point where Xiahou Dun was so far that Guo Jia could not see him anymore._

 _"Pant…pant…MY LORD! LORD XIAHOU DUN! Gah…ngh…."_

 _And all of a sudden, the entire hallway was tilted to the side to make Guo Jia fall down a giant hole._

 _"Eh?! Whoa, AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"_

 _"GASP! Pant…pant…pant…"_

 _The next thing he knew, he was suddenly on his bed, inside his room._

 _"…..what? Pant…pant….it was a dream. It…it was all a dream…it's just a dream. Hah…..but, seriously…..that dream felt so real. What did it mean? Why did that happen? Is any of this even real anymore? What is actually happening?!"_

* * *

Back to the present, Guo Jia was still deeply troubled by the dream he had.

"Sigh…..perhaps I really am just tired….but….maybe there's more to it than that? Maybe Xun Yu was right all along? Sigh…."

Suddenly, there was an earthquake that lasted for several seconds.

"Gasp! …..what was that? If it was an earthquake, it definitely was too short to be one…."

And suddenly, a blood-curdling scream was heard from the other side.

"What?! That scream…..LORD XIAHOU DUN?!"

Guo Jia ran as fast as he could, and saw Xiahou Dun being brutally and repeatedly stabbed.

"MY LORD!", he ran to stop the attacker, but was horrified beyond belief when he found that it was none other than himself.

"AAAAAAHHHH! Who….WHO ARE YOU?!", he said to the other Guo Jia. The other Guo Jia, turned his head to reveal his eyeless, bloody face, only to then start crying and laugh maniacally at the same time.

"What….in the-", before the real Guo Jia could finish his sentence, the other Guo Jia swung his knife at him, which he barely avoided.

"AH!"

"Huuuhuuuuhuuuuu….heheheheheeeee…AHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!"

"Tch! Damn it!"

The real Guo Jia then avoided the other Guo Jia's subsequent attacks, and then finally managing to knock the knife out of the other Guo Jia's hand.

"Hyah! TAKE THIS!", said the real Guo Jia while finally stabbing the other Guo Jia with it. The other Guo Jia let out several screams of pain before mysteriously disappearing in a black mist.

"GASP! …pant…pant…AH! Lord Xiahou Dun!", then, Guo Jia went over to Xiahou Dun, only to find out that it was actually a faceless puppet.

"What?!"

And furthermore, he noticed a small writing on the puppet's head.

"What is this? ….Cao Cao….is dead."

And now suddenly, Guo Jia felt an unbearable pain in his head.

"AAAARRRKKHHH! Ngh….agh…..what…..the….."

All the while, he had visions of him approaching and stabbing someone, over and over, with someone whispering.

"Ngh…..aaahhh….AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!..."

.

.

.

 _Come…._

 _Come closer…_

.

.

.

* * *

"Hmph…what's this all about? I suppose I need to ask Guo Jia about this.", said Xiahou Dun as he was sorting through scrolls. He went out of his room, but was shocked upon seeing Guo Jia himself lying unconscious on the floor.

"What the?! Guo Jia!", he rushed to help Guo Jia. "Dear lord…oh, he's still breathing. Tch, it's fortunate I found him here. What if nobody notices him?"

However, when he lifted Guo Jia up, he also noticed a writing in blood on the corridor's wall: **HE KNOWS**.

"…'He knows'? What….who wrote this? And who is 'he', anyway? God, I'm losing my mind! Ngh…"

Xiahou Dun immediately brought Guo Jia to his room and put him on his bed.

"That should do it."

And then he waited hours upon hours for Guo Jia to wake up again.

"…ngh….."

"…gasp! Guo Jia! You're awake!"

"Ngh…..huh? Lord Xiahou Dun?!"

"Yeah. You were unconscious right outside of my room. If you had fallen unconscious somewhere else, no one would've probably saved you."

"Oh…..", said Guo Jia. "…right."

"Sigh….this is really worrying, you know. I think you should just take a rest and stop working for a while."

"What? But what about you?"

"Me? Well….I can mostly handle things on my own. You can still help me out if you want, but the thing is you should just take a rest most of the time, okay?"

"…"

"Good, then…..", Xiahou Dun stood up to take care of more scrolls. "In that case-"

When he turned back to Guo Jia, he noticed that Guo Jia has disappeared, leaving blood all over Xiahou Dun's bed.

"AAHHHH! What in the name of?! GUO JIA!"

He immediately ran off outside to look for Guo Jia, only to see more blood-writings on the corridors' walls.

"What? 'THERE'S NO ESCAPE', 'HE IS DEAD', 'THEY WILL COME'….tch! Guo Jia, GUO JIA! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

And at the end of the hallway, he saw Guo Jia himself, trying to stab himself with a knife.

"Gasp! GUO JIA!", Xiahou Dun ran after him to knock Guo Jia out of his apparent suicide attempt.

"AHH!"

"Pant…pant…SERIOUSLY! Are you out of your mind?!"

"…ah…..pant…..ah? Lord….Xiahou Dun?"

"Yes! It is I! What were you thinking?!"

"…what? What did I do?"

"You were trying to kill yourself with that knife over there!"

"…..what…..what the…..I….I don't know…."

"What do you mean you don't know?!"

"I…..I don't know….earlier, after you talked to me…..I heard….I heard a voice…whispering to me, 'Come closer….come closer…..'…and…..and the next thing I know….you knocked me down, and….."

Xiahou Dun's eyes widened.

"….no…..you can't be…..you were just in my bed and literally a second ago, you disappeared!"

"I'm….I'm serious, my lord…"

"…"

Xiahou Dun immediately grabbed Guo Jia's arm and dragged him along.

"W-wha?! My lord, what are you-"

"We can't let this madness go longer. But first…."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Xiahou Dun opened his room and pushed Guo Jia towards it.

"AHHH!"

"I want you to stay here until we find a way to stop this."

"H-huh? But-"

"I'm sorry."

Xiahou Dun quickly closed the door and locked it from outside, ignoring Guo Jia's pleadings.

"WHAT?! No, NO! MY LORD! LET ME OUT OF HERE! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!"

"Sorry, Guo Jia…but it's for your own good.", said Xiahou Dun as he walked off.

"LORD XIAHOU DUN!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Xiahou Dun ran across the hallway, intending to go to a certain room. A certain someone.

"…..if anybody knows about this whole madness, it's got to be HIM."

And later, he finally reached Xun Yu's room, guarded by Zhang Liao and Yu Jin.

"Pant…pant…."

"Huh? My lord!", said Zhang Liao and Yu Jin at the same time.

"Now….you two….anything new with Xun Yu today?"

"Uhhh…..well, sir, he's mostly doing the same thing.", replied Zhang Liao.

"Only now, just recently, he tried to get out of this room.", said Yu Jin.

"Did he?", asked Xiahou Dun.

"Yes. All of a sudden, he suddenly lunged at the door, trying to get out.", continued Yu Jin.

"We tried to hold him down and tell him to not get out, and yet he began pushing with even more force that the door was beginning to break down, as well.", said Zhang Liao.

"It was only due to luck that we managed keep him stay in, and after a while, he stopped.", continued Yu Jin.

"…and now how's he?", asked Xiahou Dun.

"Mostly calm, though we still insist that you be careful.", replied Yu Jin.

"Exactly. The man's truly unpredictably dangerous.", continued Zhang Liao.

"Hmm…..fine. Let me in." and thus Xiahou Dun entered the room, finding Xun Yu walking in circles while still muttering things.

"Come….come…come…", he said.

"….ahem. Xun Yu!"

"AAAHHH! WHO ARE YOU?!"

"Hey, hey now, it's me, Xiahou Dun!", he said while approaching a trembling Xun Yu.

"No, NO, NOOO! STAY AWAY!"

"Hey, come on now! I intend no harm! Where was the one time I did?"

"Because, because, because…", after a while, Xun Yu calmed down.

"See? Come on now, let's have a nice, little conversation, shall we? Nothing to be afraid of….", said Xiahou Dun. Xun Yu then sat down.

"Now, ummm…..listen, I know all this time I might be just dismissing you as 'insane' with all your ramblings about 'death coming for us', and all of that, but…."

"But after Guo Jia tried to kill himself, you believe me now, right?", interrupted Xun Yu. Xiahou Dun was shocked.

"….how….how did you know?!"

"Of course I know,", said Xun Yu. "I heard 'them' calling out to me too, you know. Those voices….they were calling out to the helpless. The hopeless. The desperate. The ones whose lives have been reduced to empty shells of themselves…."

Xun Yu stopped for a while, before continuing, "When I hear them, I felt drawn to them. Their voices…..they were so alluring, enticing, promising to take me away from this twisted, wretched world. But thanks to this room, I was unable to. But now, I know that had I followed, I would've attempted to do what Guo Jia attempted, as well."

"Sigh….okay, so you do know what is going on. But the thing is, you're the only person around here who knows what is actually happening. So, please….is there any way we can stop this madness? To prevent something like that from happening ever again?"

"Madness?...haha, haha, ha…", Xun Yu giggled in a creepy demeanor. "….madness. What does that word even mean anymore? Does it mean something that it out of ordinary, or is something that is out of ordinary by OUR standards? Because….clearly….in that sense, we can't really tell what's madness and what is not. Makes sense, doesn't it?"

"What the- Enough, Xun Yu! You told me what is really happening around here, but I didn't listen at first. Now that I know what you're saying is true, why don't you try to help me out here?!"

"What is there to help you with?!", shouted Xun Yu, suddenly. "We….we can't do anything about this!"

"What do you mean we can't?! There must be SOMETHING we can do!"

"NO!...pant….pant…."

"…Xun Yu….you….."

"Pant….pant….besides….it's too late, anyway. Even if you had asked me sooner….it would've been STILL too late."

"What do you mean?! You mean we have to just let this madness go on without being able to do anything about it?!"

"You asked all this question, about 'fighting' this 'madness'….", said Xun Yu. "…..but would there even be a POINT in doing so, anyway? After all…..'they'…'they' know what we want, Lord Xiahou Dun….what we need…..the deepest desires, sealed and repressed in these lifeless husks….infact,", Xun Yu turned to Xiahou Dun. "….perhaps they would start calling out to you, as well, Lord Xiahou Dun, the same way they did towards Lord Guo Jia, and me….."

"What?! Does that mean I'll kill myself eventually?!"

"That, I don't know,", said Xun Yu. "But….who knows….they didn't call out to you earlier. So perhaps….they were merely buying time, to prepare a much different surprise to you…."

Xiahou Dun stared at Xun Yu, and after a long time, finally decided that it wasn't worth it.

"Sigh…..", and without saying a single word, Xiahou Dun left Xun Yu's room.

"Goodness….", he said. "I absolutely cannot believe this. Some supernatural forces, which I, for this whole time have believed to not exist, now actually appear and want to kill us, and we can't do anything about it?!"

And then, Xiahou Dun heard as if someone was calling him.

"What?! W-who's that?!"

The voices, the whispers kept on calling him.

"Come….closer…come closer…."

And suddenly, Xiahou Dun felt as if he was in a daze. He, without having any idea, moved towards the end of the hallway, which was glowing brightly as the voices kept on whispering.

 _Come closer…..come….come…._

 _Closer…..come….closer….come closer….._

 _ **Come...closer…**_

 **To Be Continued….**

* * *

Okay, that's all! Please leave a review and have a good day!


	5. Cracked Illusions

_Chapter 5: Cracked Illusions_

* * *

As soon as he stepped on the bright light, the light flashed brightly, and soon Xiahou Dun was transported to another part of the palace.

"…..what? Here?"

Despite that, Xiahou Dun could feel that something is not quite right. Looking even through the hallways felt disorienting to him.

"What is this place? The palace? No….it can't be….it feels too….."

He walked in a disoriented manner across the hallway, until he turned left and found Cao Cao himself, standing and appearing to be conversing with someone. Xiahou Dun felt as if his heart stopped.

"What the…..Cao Cao?!", he said. "No…..way….am I…..am I going mad?", he mumbled.

Xiahou Dun carefully walked towards Cao Cao, with his vision becoming blurrier and blurrier with each step. "Am I….dreaming? This can't be happening….right?"

And then, he stopped short just directly behind Cao Cao. Xiahou Dun started to feel that even Cao Cao didn't feel right. Something from him felt too haunting, too distant. Xiahou Dun even became slightly unnerved by him.

"Is this….is that even really him? Is any of this even real? Why am I here? How am I here? WHAT IS GOING ON?!", the thought echoed inside Xiahou Dun's mind, over and over. He took a deep breath.

"No…even if I have no idea, I still have to….."

He then reached his hand out to touch Cao Cao, but to his shock his hand phased through.

"What?!", he said. This time, he tried to call Cao Cao directly. "Umm….Cao Cao!"

And yet, the person in question didn't seem to hear him, or even feel his presence.

"Cao Cao? Cao Cao! It's me! …"

Xiahou Dun attempted to touch Cao Cao again, but at that moment Cao Cao disappeared into the air like an apparition.

"W-wha?!"

Xiahou Dun was taken aback. At this point, he was almost completely convinced that he was, infact, dreaming. And yet he still felt that it was still somehow real.

"….please…..seriously….if somebody could just wake me up now….", he mumbled. He then suddenly heard the sound of people talking in a distance.

"Who's that?", he said. He immediately ran towards the source, and found Cao Cao talking to none other than Xiahou Dun, himself.

"….but still, you look pale. I'm not sure you're okay.", said the second Xiahou Dun.

"I'm fine! I told you not to worry about me.", replied Cao Cao.

"….is that?", said the first Xiahou Dun upon looking at the sight. He stepped forward to get a closer look, though none of the people in front of him seemed to notice him. He became even more confused then he was before.

"….I already told you, I'm fine! It's just…..a minor headache. Nothing else, really.", said Cao Cao

"Is that so? …..well, just….take care, okay. Because…..if anything….if anything happened to you, I….I…."

"Hahaha...", Cao Cao then tapped Xiahou Dun's shoulder. "I told you not to worry about me too much. After all, I can trust you as my successor, right?"

"WHAT!"

Unexpectedly, the second Xiahou Dun immediately lashed out and violently yanked Cao Cao's hand off his shoulder, shocking the person in question.

"What….what are you saying?! You are just so sure you're going to DIE?!"

"W-what?!"

"Cousin…this…this is going too far!"

"What do you mean? Look, I just said that you don't have to worry about me being sick, alright? I mean, with the way I said it, I said that should I ever die, I could just leave this kingdom to you!"

"….."

"I mean, I know, Xiahou Dun. You're worried about me because you're worried about this kingdom. I appreciate that. But, know that I simply won't abandon this legacy I've built over the years. You're the person I trust the most, so should I ever die, I will leave this kingdom under your care. Simple as that."

The real Xiahou Dun was watching all of this with sadness on his face. Somehow he felt as if Cao Cao had spoken those words to him before. Suddenly, something felt so heavy in his chest.

"…I…..", the second Xiahou Dun looked as if he was about to say something, but stopped short.

"Now, don't worry too much about me, for the last time. Just do what you think is the best for me. That's all.", Cao Cao tapped Xiahou Dun's shoulder and walked past him, who then hung his head in sadness.

The first Xiahou Dun was still bewildered at what's going on.

"….weird. I…..I feel as if Cao Cao has actually said those things to me before…..", he thought. Unknowingly, tears flowed from his eyes, and he saw Cao Cao disappear, yet again, whereas the second Xiahou Dun remained there.

"…..Cao Cao…", the first Xiahou Dun said. He felt an overwhelming sense of sadness. Something ached so much in his heart and Cao Cao's words were echoing endlessly inside his head.

"….hsk…..you…..you're dead. Cao Cao is dead. You're….dead. Gone. I….I thought I'd gotten over it….but it doesn't change the fact…..you're dead. You're gone."

The second Xiahou Dun suddenly lifted his head and looked at the first Xiahou Dun right in the eyes, which terrified the latter.

"Gasp! You….you can see me now?", asked the first Xiahou Dun.

"You must've been wondering, right?", replied the second Xiahou Dun.

"Wait, I thought that…."

"Yeah. Well….the thing is, I've been aware of your presence the entire time. Why should you be surprised? We are one and the same, after all…"

"Wait, what?!", the first Xiahou Dun was shocked. "What…..do you mean? You….are me? And I am you?"

"Precisely."

"….wait a minute. If that's the case…..why didn't Cao Cao recognize me?"

"Heh….well, he seemed to be unaware of your presence. Or he could've ignored you. Why should it be a surprise? He basically ignored me as well."

"Ignoring you? But how?! You just spoke with him!"

"I did speak with him, yes….but only through words. The thing was, only our mouths spoke with each other. Our hearts, however…..was completely disconnected. He actively shunned me away on the inside. He rejected both of us. He is forever away from our reach….like a dying autumn dream…."

The words uttered by the second Xiahou Dun hit the first Xiahou Dun harder than he thought. Just the mere words 'he rejected both of us', 'he is forever away from our reach', were enough to make him feel an unexplainable anguish.

"What?! No….what do you mean by that?!"

"You do not know? I mean…..he's basically dead at this point. You know that, for sure. I know that also. He lied about being okay, but I know…..that death is basically looming over him at this point. What is the point of even sobbing in despair at this point? But, then again….why are you acting as if this is new to you?"

"What?! What do you mean?!"

"Heh…you forgot what I said? We are one of the same. You don't even remember this conversation you had with Cao Cao?"

"What the…..", and all of a sudden, Xiahou Dun felt a sharp pain in his head, and he memories and flashbacks came flooding to his head. He now remembered, that he indeed had this conversation with Cao Cao before. After it was over, he looked up and saw that his other self is gone.

"….pant….pant…..what…happened? How….how could I even forget that?"

He continued to walk, though this time not with any particular goal. His entire mind was still swirling down the drain from all the things he saw. He was not even sure if this is even real, or not.

"…why….dear lord, WHY IS ALL OF THIS HAPPENING?! I just….I just want to go back home….please….I want…..peace…."

.

.

.

"Gasp!"

The next thing he knew, Xiahou Dun was suddenly back at his bedroom, again. This has happened to him several times over that he started to really question everything around him.

"…..a dream, eh? No, no, that…..that was more than a dream. That didn't feel like a dream. More like…..an experience. Hah. What am I talking about?"

Xiahou Dun woke up and went outside, where he turned and saw Jia Xu leaning on the wall, crossing his arms, who turned to him.

"Ah. You're finally awake.", he said, still with the sly leer he always puts up the entire time.

"What? You've been waiting for me to wake up the entire time?"

"Yeah. I mean, far better than waiting by your bedside like what Master Guo Jia always does, right? People will get the wrong idea. Not to mention that you'd likely kill me outright upon seeing me by your bed. Heh."

"Guo Jia…..gasp! Where, where is he?!", shouted Xiahou Dun suddenly. He's just remembered that he'd locked Guo Jia inside before going to Xun Yu.

"Him? Ah…", Jia Xu looked hesitant. "…..you don't need to worry about him. Thing is, he's alright. Far away from where you can reach him."

"What?! What do you mean by that?!"

"Sigh…..it's….kinda complicated, and you'll likely won't want to hear it,", said Jia Xu. "But, well…he's been locked in your room for almost 40 days. When we got him out he was so out of his mind he would've likely become a second Xun Yu, but luckily he's much better now."

"What?!", Xiahou Dun felt as if a thunder stroke his heart. "40…40 days. What in the name of….?!"

"Yeah, we know it's pretty weird, too.", answered Jia Xu. "And what's even weirder is, most of us haven't even noticed it until yesterday, when we heard some pretty violent banging and screaming from your room. And then, after we got him out, he had…quite interesting things to say."

"Interesting?"

"Yeah.", Jia Xu turned away and walked several steps forwards. "He kept repeating these one sentence, over and over, "HE DID IT! HE DID IT TO ME! HE DID IT TO EVERYONE ELSE!"….naturally, especially after seeing his appearance, we wondered what the hell could have happened. We feared that he's suffered the same fate as Xun Yu, but luckily he's been getting better as of recently."

"…."

"After he's gotten slightly better, we asked him how he got into this whole situation. That's where he said that you, my sir, were the one who locked him in, and left him there for 40 days…"

"…!"

"…..well, do you deny?"

"…no."

"In that case, would you please explain your motivation in doing so?", said Jia Xu while walking closer and closer to Xiahou Dun, which made the latter more nervous.

"…..uhm…"

"Oh, what's the matter? You can't answer?"

"What the- NO!"

"Then why do you seem to hesitate? It's as if you're hiding some sort of…..secret?"

"N-no! Sigh…listen, the reason for this whole ordeal was that I suddenly found him unconscious in front of my room. I brought him in and he woke up. And then, I literally only turned my back to him and when I looked back, he disappeared. Then I found him outside trying to kill himself! And, of course….I then went to Xun Yu to ask for help, especially since he seems to be the only one with a slightest damned clue in this madness, and I locked Guo Jia in to prevent him from doing something like that again!"

"Hmmmm…..there's a lot of things I would like to question with your story, but let's save that for later for the most important question: What were you doing all that time to the point of effectively trapping him in for 40 days, nonetheless?"

Xiahou Dun was silent. The thing was, not even he could wrap his own head around what's happening.

"…..I…..don't know how to explain it…."

"Why is it so? ….is it because you're talking with me?"

"Huh?"

"Heh, thought so. I see you having no problem talking about things to Master Guo Jia. So….I assume this has to do with you not trusting me at the first place. What is it? You and Master Guo Jia knowing about something I am not allowed to know, for some reason?"

"Uh, wait….."

"Especially after what happened that day…..I've already suspected something wrong. Not just you, but with Master Guo Jia as well. Especially after this, how can we expect you to be our leader anymore?"

"What are you saying?! You….you!"

"A-ha! And now look at you, immediately panicking and accusing me of treachery, hm?"

"….I…."

"Indeed, I think that's the whole problem between us. You always keep things secret from me, fearing that I would try to betray and kill you. And….well, even though I can't necessarily blame you for that, what good would come from that? Ahaha…..unless, of course, if you are the root of the problem."

"What are you implying….you mean I'M to blame for this?!"

"Perhaps yes, perhaps not….but since you refused to tell me what actually happened, how am I supposed to know?"

"…"

"…..sigh….look, my lord…..I don't disrespect you. You are my lord, and I know full well that you would lob my head off the instant I try something funny. Even during Lord Cao Cao's lifetime. But I'm concerned with the fate of this kingdom, and when you won't even open up to your advisors while everything is going downhill, how are we supposed to take care of it? Like I said before, your whole demeanor around me just seemed too suspicious. You are hiding something…..you, and Master Guo Jia have a secret that you don't want me to know because of your fear of me trying to one-up you, or something…..am I correct?"

"What the….sigh…..", Xiahou Dun had been completely cornered. It's not like he wanted to drive his kingdom to ruin, but something, something inside him just kept telling him to not confide any of this to anyone except Guo Jia, much less someone like Jia Xu if he wanted to stay as a leader…

"Ngh…..I…"

"Ahaha…really, to be frank, my lord, I've tried to trust you as our new leader since the very beginning. But with you like this, how am I supposed to have faith? Heh, I suppose it's just the best to not have faith in anyone at all, but again….."

This time, Jia Xu walked closer to Xiahou Dun, close enough to discomfort the latter.

"….or perhaps you may not be unaware of the truth at all?"

"W-wha?! …..the truth? What do you mean?"

"Sometimes….sometimes what we see aren't quite what we think they are. The things we regard as reality might not be there….whereas what we regard as mere mad illusions, turn out to be the truth after all."

The words struck Xiahou Dun like a lightning. Where….when did he know all of this stuff?!

"…..what?"

"You know…..I've actually already talked to Master Xun Yu, and he's already told the story about the whole ordeal involving you and Master Guo Jia, possibly others as well. I already know what is going on. And now….you refusing to tell me exactly that, is the proof that you fear that me discovering something would cause some trouble….or maybe what you've seen wasn't actually the truth?"

"Gh, shut…SHUT UP!"

Xiahou Dun's sudden shouting briefly startled the strategist before sending him a smirk.

"Ahaha…..and now look at you. Telling me to shut up, even though I have always intended to help you."

"Gh, what kind of helping exactly?! You just keep telling me this nonsense without actually going anywhere! And….telling me that I don't know the truth….well, you aren't exactly someone I would seek out 'the truth' from!"

"Ahaha…..truth, is sometimes painful. No, not sometimes, truth IS painful. The reality itself is always out to get us, and if we continue to reject it….how are we even here right now? We may run from it, time to time, by distracting ourselves….but in the end, truth WILL reach you. And, if you're unprepared….truth will shatter you in one strike. Like in battlefield, basically. And now, I'm really only asking you a simple question….why are you hiding 'that' from all of us? Is it because you don't actually trust us?"

Xiahou Dun didn't answer. Instead, he kept spacing out and saw the environment around him distorting.

"….ngh…."

"My lord? Hey….you okay?"

At the end of the hallway emanated a dark presence, which Xiahou Dun felt was sucking him in. He, in a daze, began to walk towards it, only to be stopped by Jia Xu.

"MY LORD!"

"Ngh- AH!"

"….what….are you doing?"

"…uhm….I….."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream was heard from the other side.

"Who is that?!", said Xiahou Dun.

"It sounded like….MASTER GUO JIA!"

"WHAT?!"

Thus, Xiahou Dun and Jia Xu both ran quickly to the room Guo Jia was in, but Jia Xu stopped Xiahou Dun midway.

"What?!"

"I told you that you need to stay away from him."

"Then what am I supposed to do-"

"Just stay outside for a while."

"….."

And so Jia Xu entered the room to find Guo Jia holding his head while screaming in pain.

"What the- Master Guo Jia!"

"AAAAAHHHH! AAAAHHHH!"

"What the- what happened to him?!"

"We don't know! He…..he just started mumbling things and suddenly became like this!", answered Xiahou Yuan.

"He also suddenly became violent and attempted to trash everything!", said Yue Jin.

"Yeah. If we hadn't held him down….", continued Li Dian.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHH! I SAW IT! I SAW IT!"

"Saw what?! HEY! MASTER GUO JIA! You hear me?!", said Jia Xu attempting to calm Guo Jia down.

"I saw it…..it…saw it….I saw….IT! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"What the- what did you see? What did you see?!"

Guo Jia didn't answer, and instead turned his head around to see Xiahou Dun outside through the window, before continuing screaming again.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! HE DID IT! HE DID IT! HE DID IT! AAAAAAAHHHHHH!", screamed Guo Jia while pointing at Xiahou Dun, prompting everyone else in the room to look at Xiahou Dun with shocked expressions. Xiahou Dun himself widened his eyes at such.

"…what?"

 **To Be Continued….**

* * *

AND HERE IT IS AGAIN! Me, the most useless person in the entire world, went back again after being missing with little to no warning for 2 weeks! Hooray for me!

But, yeah…..all this time I've been a bit sick and tired, and just generally having no will to continue this. I mean, I don't want to discontinue this and want to finish it, but there are times when I just simply lose will to turn on my laptop and get my ass working on this. I'm very sorry.

Needless to say, please leave a review and have a good day!


	6. Despair

_Chapter 6: Despair_

* * *

"Did…..he did what?!", asked Jia Xu.

"I…I SAW IT! He….he did something! AAAAHHHH!"

"CALM! DOWN!"

"…pant…pant….", after a while, Guo Jia finally settled down, before talking again, "….I….I saw him. I saw him! He….he…."

Everyone was waiting for Guo Jia's answer, with Xiahou Dun nervously sweating outside.

"….what….what did I do?", he thought.

"He….he killed Lord Cao Cao!"

Everyone present felt as if the heavens itself have fallen. Everyone in the room, with shock on their faces and mouths agape, turned to Xiahou Dun, who was trembling and slowly stepping backwards.

"…..what…are you…..", mumbled Xiahou Dun.

"…..my…..lord?", said everyone else in utter disbelief.

"I saw him! He…he did it to Lord Cao Cao!", continued Guo Jia.

"What the?! Master Guo Jia, how could you know?", asked Jia Xu.

Guo Jia didn't answer. Meanwhile, Xiahou Dun, still in shock, said, "….no….no no NO NO NO! Guo Jia….how could you even THINK of such a thing?! Me murdering Cao Cao is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! Guo Jia, you've gone nuts! How could you even imply that I had a hand in Cao Cao's death?!"

"My lord, calm down.", said Jia Xu. "Look, we aren't accusing you of anything, okay? Perhaps Master Guo Jia is still being paranoid and just spurting out random nonsense like Xun-"

"I'm not lying!", said Guo Jia. "I saw it….I saw you doing it inside Lord Cao Cao's room!"

"What?! Grr…..", the outraged Xiahou Dun proceeded to enter the room and yanked Guo Jia by the collar.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!"

"My lord! Wait!", said everyone else in the room.

"You…WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! Accusing ME of murdering my own LORD and COUSIN?!"

"Lord Xiahou Dun!", said Jia Xu. Xiahou Dun turned to him and said to him angrily, "WHAT?! YOU'RE ACCUSING ME AS WELL NOW?!"

"NO! But, let Master Guo Jia go!", said Jia Xu. Xiahou Dun, though still hot with rage, finally let Guo Jia down by pushing him away. He put his hand to his forehead and sighed deeply.

"….this madness must end now."

"We're trying to, my lord. We're trying."

"Yeah, but now look where it's gone to! Dammit…it all began from a single death! A single death that proceeded to screw with all of us!"

"My lord-"

"We thought that after our previous Lord dies, we could just try to move on with our lives, but NO!",said Xiahou Dun while circling around the room. "And then some crazy shit happened along the way! We thought we're losing our minds, but….it's really happening."

"My lord, what are you-"

"IT'S REALLY OUT TO GET US!", suddenly shouted Xiahou Dun. "IT'S THOSE GUYS! What….what Xun Yu said is right! They're out to get us and there's NOTHING we can do about it! Starting from Cao Cao, THEY WILL COME TO GET US!"

"My lord, calm down!", said everyone else when they noticed Xiahou Dun's increasingly bizarre behavior.

"WE'LL ALL DIE!"

"MY LORD!", shouted Jia Xu.

And so Xiahou Dun stopped. It's only then he widened his eyes, realizing what he's become.

"….no…I….I…."

In utter shame, Xiahou Dun immediately ran out the room.

"Huh?! Wait, my lord!", Xiahou Yuan attempted to chase after Xiahou Dun, but was stopped by Jia Xu. "Huh?!"

"Let him. He's starting to become like Xun Yu and Guo Jia as well….just give him some time."

"Okay, but…..about what Master Guo Jia said….", asked Yue Jin.

"Since Lord Xiahou Dun doesn't want to tell us the truth, we're going to check out the only place that could tell us the truth,", answered Jia Xu. "After all….breathless objects can't lie."

* * *

Meanwhile Xiahou Dun ran as fast as he can towards his room and promptly locked himself inside.

"Pant….pant…..huff…..", he slumped down and sat directly in front of the door. He was still horrified at what has happened to him earlier.

"No, no, no, no no no no…..no NO!", he said over and over. "Impossible….impossible….IMPOSSIBLE!", he hit the wall behind him, before holding his head with his hands in frustration.

"What…..what is truly happening?! Gah, I've become tired even by asking the same damned thing, over and over again….but…..sigh….."

And all of a sudden, the candles in his room went out, making his room completely dark.

"Gasp! …who's there?!"

And then, the candles lit up again, this time showing the ghost-like apparitions of Xiahou Dun and the bedridden Cao Cao.

"What?", said the real Xiahou Dun. The vision of Xiahou Dun saw the bedridden Cao Cao with a shocked face.

Cao Cao had a fit of coughing before noticing Xiahou Dun. "Oh, Xiahou Dun. Good to see you."

"Yeah.", said the vision of Xiahou Dun. He sat beside Cao Cao and sighed. "So….how are you?"

"Not very good," answered Cao Cao. "The headache kept getting worse, and the coughs didn't help any….", said Cao Cao before he had another coughing fit. "….but I suppose it's still nothing serious."

"Wait…..what?", mumbled the real Xiahou Dun. "I…..I DID actually meet cousin that particular day! But…..how could I forget that?"

The vision of Xiahou Dun was silent. Cao Cao smiled and said, "….I thought you had some affairs to do. I mean, it's nice that you would pay me a visit, but-"

And suddenly, the vision of Xiahou Dun stood up, to the shock of both Cao Cao and the real Xiahou Dun.

"Pant…pant…"

"Umm….Xiahou Du-"

"Look….I'm SICK of all this, OKAY!"

Cao Cao's eyes widened with shock.

"…..huh?"

"You- ermh…..I….I don't know how to describe it! But…..WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS LIKE THIS?!"

"…..what do you mean?"

"I- gah! …huff…..you're….you're always treating this like a small matter. Why?"

"Heh…..with that question again? I told you, it's fine. I already have people like you and the others to tend to the kingdom affairs, so-"

"That's not what I mean," the vision of Xiahou Dun interrupted. "I mean, look at you. You've been this way for precisely a month now, and you're not getting better. What if-"

"What if I died, you ask?", said Cao Cao before letting out a small chuckle. "Oh, Xiahou Dun….you're letting yourself distraught by such small matters like this."

"Small? SMALL?!", the vision of Xiahou Dun grabbed Cao Cao by the wrist. "You…did you just say that YOUR DEATH is a SMALL matter?!"

"Yes."

"WHAT?!"

"Hey, calm down. Let me explain."

Xiahou Dun huffed and sat down, letting go of Cao Cao's wrist. Then Cao Cao coughed again.

"Cousin!"

"I'm fine," said Cao Cao. "I know this might seem weird, but….all this time, we always regard death as a scary thing, yes?"

"Obviously."

"Yes…..", said Cao Cao. "Death is the ultimate, inevitable fate of all living beings on this world. It separates us from everything, our possessions, our loved ones…it's always a tragic thing."

"You don't say."

"Of course. But….after all this time, after I got sick, forcing myself to my bed, I've been thinking about this. I've been scared about what will happen after I die. The thought was raging inside my mind, turning my being into such a mess. What will happen to everything I've built in my life? My kingdom? My followers? And my people? I was worried that I would leave them so soon. Well, of course, a human naturally worries that sort of thing, but you know that I'm not the one to easily be worried."

"…"

"But…..then I realized one thing….that even after our death, there is one thing that will never go away. Our legacy. The mark that we left on this world, with however short time we have. And….I realized that I've already built my legacy on this world, aided with all my loyal followers. Including you, Xiahou Dun….who's always there with me in my toughest times. Truly, I can't express how grateful I am for you. Infact, I can't even imagine where I would've ended up without you."

"Cao Cao…..", the vision of Xiahou Dun began to cry, who is then followed by the real Xiahou Dun as well.

"Yeah….", Cao Cao said. "I trust in the strength and capabilities of all of you. You, my loyal officers, are what made Wei the way it is now. Even though my soul will depart from my physical body, all of you will still continue my spirit. My legacy. So, Xiahou Dun?"

"Huh?"

Cao Cao smiled and wiped the tears off of the vision of Xiahou Dun's face.

"…..if you would just stop crying over me, and lead my people as I did…..I would be really happy…."

The vision of Xiahou Dun's eyes widened as the vision of Cao Cao disappeared like mist. And then, he suddenly stood up and grabbed the chair he was sitting on and threw it on the floor, smashing it to pieces, to the shock of the real Xiahou Dun.

"GASP!"

"Cousin, I…..I HATE YOU! YOU IDIOT!"

"Wha?"

"You….HOW DARE YOU! You….you kept all that dignity when you knew that death itself is right in front of your face…and then trying to set ME as your successor? ….YOU IDIOT! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU SO MUCH!"

"…"

"Ghhh…", the vision of Xiahou Dun started to cry again. "You….you didn't understand. You never did. I…..I care about this kingdom. I truly do. But….that's not my point about me not wanting to lose you…ngh…."

The vision of Xiahou Dun covered his face with both of his hands. "It's…it's not about this kingdom losing you….it's about me…losing you…..more than being my lord. You're my friend….my cousin…..tsk….tsk…..hhhh….."

The vision of Xiahou Dun slumped to the floor and continued crying, with the real Xiahou Dun only being able to watch, still crying himself. After a while, the real Xiahou Dun walked closer towards a vision of himself and tapped his shoulder.

"Hey," he said, but his own vision instead disappeared like mist. The real Xiahou Dun stood silent for a while before slumping onto the floor again and curling into a fetal position, still crying.

"Hsk…..hsk…hsk…"

 _….how?_

 _How could I forget that?_

 _….Cao Cao…._

 _….I'm sorry….._

 _._

 _._

 _._

 _I'm sorry…._

 _._

 _._

 _._

* * *

When the next day came, Xiahou Dun woke up. Apparently he's fallen asleep on the floor after all that crying. However, he didn't want to move. After all the things he's seen, how Xiahou Dun wished that everything around him would just disappear already. It's as if he had no will to live anymore.

How he wished that he'd never saw all that he's just seen. How he wished that all of the memories of him, during Cao Cao's last days, kept hidden away by his own denial.

But at the end, he truly had no one else but himself to blame, didn't he?

But, then he thought again….. _wouldn't this be against Cao Cao's wishes? His last wish…..was to literally trust me with this kingdom….his legacy…..and I…am his successor…._

But again, just the thought of Cao Cao immediately reminded him again of those painful memories, yet again. Something that he just wished to go away. But he couldn't.

And suddenly, someone knocked on his door.

"Lord Xiahou Dun!", the visitor said. But Xiahou Dun didn't answer. "Lord Xiahou Dun! Hey!"

"No….no….DAMMIT! The last thing I ever want at this moment are visitors….."

"Lord Xiahou Dun, it is I, Jia Xu. May I have a word with you?", said the visitor. "It's…..about something Master Guo Jia said yesterday."

Xiahou Dun was startled. "What the…..NO! I DID NOT DO IT!"

"This is not about you doing it or not, since there's no proof of it as yet.", said Jia Xu. "But…we found something interesting. Perhaps this could prove that you didn't actually kill Lord Cao Cao."

"…..', after a long consideration, Xiahou Dun finally stood up and opened the door, finding Jia Xu accompanied with Zhang Liao and Yu Jin, much to his shock.

"…..um….what is-"

"Ah, I know that this might seem a little…threatening, but it's fine.", said Jia Xu. "As I said before, we're not accusing you of doing anything."

"….", still Xiahou Dun was nervous.

"Now, follow me.", said Jia Xu, and the four went to Cao Cao's room, which has since been abandoned since his death.

"So…what did you actually find?", asked Xiahou Dun.

"Ehm…..that….we cannot explain with words….", said Jia Xu. "You might want to see for yourself.", he continued, before opening the door.

The sight of Cao Cao's room was truly like gazing into madness itself. The entire room was in complete wreck, ripped scrolls scattering everywhere, not to mention blood all over the place.

"…wait….what….the…..fuck?!", said Xiahou Dun.

"Exactly," said Jia Xu. "Whoever did this was certainly a complete psychopath that somehow escaped his restraints. Now, the question as to whether said psychopath is among us….."

"But…..HOLD ON! Okay…the way Guo Jia said it…..he's implying, that I killed Cao Cao HERE…never mind the fact that night when Xun Yu found his corpse at the throne room?"

"That's exactly the one thing that made us doubt over whether he's to be believed or not," answered JIa Xu. "But….hey, the suspect could've moved the body and placed him there….for whatever reasons."

"….."

Xiahou Dun took a look around the room. On the wall, he found some writings in blood.

 _ **DEATH IS NEAR.**_

 _ **EMBRACE THE TRUTH.**_

 _ **LOOK. AT. ME.**_

"…..I…"

"And….look at this.", said Jia Xu while showing a bloody knife to Xiahou Dun. "Found this on the bed. Looks pretty clean, even though it looks like it's been there for a while." Xiahou Dun took the knife and stared at it. For some reason, the knife felt so familiar.

"A knife…", he mumbled. All of a sudden, he heard an ear-splitting high-pitched noise and held his head in pain. When he looked up, he found yet another vision of him with Cao Cao.

"Argh! …wait, what?"

He saw a vision of himself walking towards a sleeping Cao Cao. In his hand was a knife. The very same knife the real Xiahou Dun was holding now. The real Xiahou Dun was trembling, utterly terrified.

"…..what….what? No, no no no no no no no…..'

He saw a vision of himself lifting his arm, and then swinging that knife towards Cao Cao.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"LORD XIAHOU DUN!"

"Eh?!" A plit second later, and the horrifying vision disappeared. Xiahou Dun was still sweating and trembling.

"My lord, are you okay?!", asked Zhang Liao.

"Did you see something?", asked Yu Jin.

"What? No. No.", said Xiahou Dun. He gradually calmed down, though still incredibly nervous.

"Is that so, my lord?", asked Jia Xu. "You…did look like you've seen something on that bed."

"Gh, NO!", he suddenly shouted. "I…..I saw nothing!"

"That did not happen", thought Xiahou Dun to himself. "No….it must've been 'them' trying to play tricks on me! NO!"

"Is that so?", said Jia Xu, raising an eyebrow. "But….well, I trust what you said. And now…since we're still unable to find a definitive proof that you are the culprit…..Master Guo Jia might have been simply saying nonsense. Oh well.", he shrugged.

"…"

"And now, you may keep that bloody knife for yourself, if you wanted," said Jia Xu. "But for now on, we'll continue looking for clues. I'll inform you for any updates."

"Understood.", said Xiahou Dun. And thus, he went back to his room. He stared at the bloody knife for a long time. Something about it just seemed so familiar, and yet…..

However, he still refused to believe the vision that's just occurred to him. Such act was so utterly unthinkable by Xiahou Dun. He had already been shown, time to time again, that the last thing he ever wanted was Cao Cao being dead. So, why would he kill Cao Cao, however insane he might be at that point?

And, more importantly…..how would he ever forgive himself if he truly did kill his own lord, own cousin, own friend?

"Sigh…please…..please…..could someone just tell me…"

And all of a sudden, his entire room went dark. And when it lit up again, Xiahou Dun is now suddenly in a dark, tight corridor.

"What the-?!", he mumbled. He looked down and found a candle, which he picked up. He walked down the corridors, and found writings in blood on the walls.

 ** _HE DID IT._**

 ** _I SAW IT._**

 ** _I KNEW IT._**

 ** _THE. TRUTH._**

Such words made Xiahou Dun even more nervous. And suddenly, he saw a shadowy being moving past him.

"Huh?! Who's there?!", he saw. He immediately ran to chase after the creature, still with thousand questions inside his mind…

 _ **To Be Continued….**_

* * *

Okay! Please leave a review and have a good day!


	7. Loop of Insanity

_Chapter 7: Loop of Insanity_

* * *

Xiahou Dun tried to chase after the mysterious creature. He turned left and ran down the hallway before finding a room.

"Huh? Who's inside?", he said. He looked inside the room and found Xun Yu, mumbling things.

"Huh? Xun Yu?", he peeked inside the room. He found Xun Yu sitting on the floor, trembling, and there are writings on the wall in black ink.

What Xun Yu was mumbling and was written on the walls was a phrase, repeated over, and over, and over.

"Victory is ours…..victory is ours…victory is ours…..victory is ours….."

 _ **VICTORY IS OURS.**_

 _ **VICTORY IS OURS.**_

 _ **VICTORY IS OURS.**_

"….what?", mumbled Xiahou Dun. He, very quietly and slowly opened the door and went inside.

"Uhm…Xun Yu?", he said while tapping Xun Yu's shoulder. All of a sudden Xun Yu turned around and immediately tackled him to the ground.

"WAAAHHH! X-XUN YU! What are you doing?!"

"YOU'RE HERE! You…..you are FINALLY HERE!", said Xun Yu. Xiahou Dun noticed how Xun Yu's clearly lost a lot of weight and his large eyebags.

"What….do you mea-"

"I thought….I THOUGHT WE WERE DEAD! But….no….there's still hope. THERE'S STILL HOPE!"

"Hope?"

Xun Yu let Xiahou Dun go and walked to a large drape covering a section of a wall. He tore the drape down and revealed a painting of a slaughtered phoenix.

"…what is this?"

"I've…..realized one thing. For a long time, we've embraced the phoenix as a symbol of our kingdom. Don't you know it yourself? The phoenix, although killed, will rise from its ashes. It will not be stopped….so, do you know what this means, my lord? Victory is ours. Victory is already ours. We already won without even fighting!"

"What?", Xiahou Dun was utterly confused. Literally the last time they met Xun Yu insisted that they can't win against 'them'….so why?

"What the….I don't get it.", he asked. "What do you mean? We've already…..won?"

"We won.", said Xun Yu, tapping Xiahou Dun's shoulder. "We won, my lord. We won. It's….it's finally over. Can't you see?! This nightmare….this nightmare will finally end soon!"

Xiahou Dun was still in a process to understand all of this, when suddenly everything around him, including Xun Yu, started to melt into blood.

"AAAAAHHHH!…..", and now Xiahou Dun is leg-deep in blood and found himself in the same corridors as before.

"Argh….dammit! What was all that about?!", he said while cleaning the blood off his clothes.

Suddenly, he heard a noise, and turned around.

He found a gigantic shadowy, humanoid figure, pointing at him.

"Wha?!", Xiahou Dun was startled. "Who are you?!"

The creature then summoned a dozen of floating bloody knifes, and started to wal after Xiahou Dun while warping the environment around him. And now Xiahou Dun realized that this….thing meant business.

"Oh, shi-" and then Xiahou Dun started to run as fast as he could while wading through a literal lake of blood. Meanwhile, the shadowy creature chasing him suddenly sent the knives after him.

"What?! ARGH!", unfortunately, despite his attempts to avoid the knives, one, and later two ave managed to hit him on the shoulder and on his back.

"Tch….damn it! GAH! What IS that thing?!", Xiahou Dun ran even faster. And finally, he reached the end and immediately turned right, hoping that the creature lost him.

"GAH! …pant….pant…pant….."

When he was hiding behind a wall, he noticed the creature just directly on the other side, looking for Xiahou Dun. Xiahou Dun was struggling to stay as quiet as possible, when the dark presence of the creature made him felt as if he was being choked.

"Ngh…..hm…go…..away…..dammit….."

After a while, the creature went away, leaving Xiahou Dun. The latter breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, dear….sigh….and now…..what else?"

Xiahou Dun continued to walk down the dark corridors. The corridors were mostly empty and seemingly had no ends.

"Sigh…..what is going on? Am I dreaming again? No, it…..it doesn't feel like dreaming…..I'm sure about that….."

When he reached a particular part, he found the same painting of a phoenix on the wall that Xun Yu showed him earlier, only now it showed the phoenix being slaughtered by a person, and painted with blood.

"This is…..", Xiahou Dun touched the painting, and the painting suddenly glowed and revealed a hidden passage.

"What the-?!", mumbled Xiahou Dun. He then entered the hidden passage and only reached a dead end with a small hole. He ducked to look through the hole, and found yet another vision of a sleeping Cao Cao.

"Cao Cao?", he said. Then, he saw himself walking towards Cao Cao.

"Cao Cao?", said the vision of Xiahou Dun. He then attempted to wake Cao Cao up, btu failed as Cao Cao continued to sleep. Then the visions disappeared.

However, the visions appeared again, this time showing the day after. This time, the vision of Xiahou Dun approached the still-sleeping Cao Cao to wake him up, and yet he still failed. This time, he stayed beside Cao Cao and waited for Cao Cao to wake up, but to no avail. Then the visions vanished.

And then there was another vision, this time showing Xiahou Dun walking until he met Guo Jia.

"Huh? Guo Jia?", muttered the real Xiahou Dun.

"So….how's him?", asked Guo Jia.

"Sigh…..", the vision of Xiahou Dun put his hand to his forehead.

"….not too well, I presume?", said Guo Jia.

"You think?!", the vision of Xiahou Dun angrily answered. "Now, he won't even wake up! And….it's been two days….."

"What should we do?"

"Hrm…I can't stand it anymore….", said the vision of Xiahou Dun. "The medicine we gave him a few days ago managed to make him slightly better, but…."

"My lord, I-"

"But he isn't really becoming better!", the vision of Xiahou Dun suddenly shouted. "If anything, it only delayed his death for god-knows how long…."

The vision of Xiahou Dun sighed, whereas Guo Jia was silent.

"So, really…..what's the point anymore?", said Xiahou Dun. "Everything we did was futile….the only good thing to do now is to wait for his death-"

"What?! My lord, how could you say something like that?!"

"Well, what else are you expecting?!", the vision of Xiahou Dun lashed out at Guo Jia, briefly startling the latter. "It's…..it's hard for me too…..but what else can we do?!"

"…I….."

"I don't know.", the vision of Xiahou Dun placed his hand on his forehead. "Cao Cao….our lord is a dying man. No matter what we do….we can't try to hold off what is coming towards us. I….I….."

And the visions vanished. And then there came another vision. This time, Xiahou Dun had the same exact vision that he had at Cao Cao's room.

"Wha…no no, no no no no no no no no….."

In the vision, the scene played out exactly like the vision Xiahou Dun had before, with hi closing his eyes just before the vision of himself actually stabbed Cao Cao with the knife. And indeed, the sound of the knife stabbing was then heard.

However, when Xiahou Dun opened his eyes, he found out that the vision of Xiahou Dun didn't stab Cao Cao. He turned out to have stabbed himself on the abdomen, much to the real Xiahou Dun's horror.

"…..what?!", and at that precise moment, the real Xiahou Dun also proceeded to feel a sharp pain on his abdomen. The vision of Xiahou Dun, with a rather blank, hopeless expression, pulled his knife out, apparently still without feeling any sort of pain.

He looked at the knife and then towards the still-sleeping Cao Cao, before chuckling sourly and saying, "Now…..can you see the kind of a man I am now, Cao Cao? A person too pathetic to end what has been torturing him the entire time…just because….just because I can't bear to see you suffer from this any longer. And yet, I chickened out. Is this truly the person you would want as your successor, cousin? ….heh….you idiot. No, I'm an idiot. I'm an idiot, a fool. And yet you trusted me….anyway…."

And the visions vanished, and all that was left was a black void. The real Xiahou Dun, after seeing all of this, slumped into the ground. He took out the bloody knife and stared at it. And only now….he understood everything.

"I….I couldn't bear seeing him die. And yet…when I tried to give him a medicine that hopefully could ward off death for longer, it…..tch…..it didn't make things any better. It put him into such a daze that….that he never woke up. He wasn't dead, nor was he even live either….which was the same thing as dead to me. Except that he wasn't. And at that moment, I realized that I couldn't bear seeing him like that, either. Trying to hold off death futilely was merely a desperate attempt of despair. So…..at that night….I attempted to give him the death that he'd so long anticipated…..but….not even that….tch….."

And so Xiahou Dun broke down again. He realized just how useless he was without his lord. He was never ready for this. He was never ready to be Cao Cao's successor. No matter how he wanted to repress those painful memories….it would always come back to haunt him, once again…..

Meanwhile, Guo Jia was see, still inside his room. He picked something from the table, and smirked, before he quickly turned angry and knocked the candle off, engulfing the entire room in fire. And then he flashed a much, much wider smile.

 _….my lord…._

 _It seems…that you're in a need of assistance…_

 _Well then….._

 ** _I'll help you….._**

 _._

 _._

 _._

Xiahou Dun was then seen walking out of the secret passage, with the secret passage closing again behind him as he left. Since his mind have been so utterly wrecked by the revelation shown to him earlier, he then wandered aimlessly inside the corridors without any particular goal. Why would he? He'd decided that his life was useless, anyway.

And then, suddenly, he felt something dropping on his face from above. "Hm?", and then he looked up. And only then, did he realize a corpse hanging upside down on the ceiling.

"AAAAHHHHH!", he screamed in utter horror. Even more, when he examined, the corpse was none other than Zhang Liao's. And now Xiahou Dun was brought back into awareness again.

"What...what the absolute-", and then he looked further and found many, many other Wei's officers that have been killed and hanged upside down. Xiahou Dun gaped in horror as he tried to comprehend the nightmare he's been thrown in.

"What the….no….no, this CAN'T BE!", he screamed. He then wasted no time in trying to get away from this place as quickly as he possibly could, before someone called his name.

"Lord XIAHOU DUN!", it terrified Xiahou Dun for a second. "ARGH! WHO ARE YOU?!"

"It's us!", and then, it was revealed that it was Jia Xu, who was later followed by Xiahou Yuan, Yue Jin and Li Dian.

"You guys…."

"Are you alright, Brother Dun?", asked Xiahou Yuan.

"…I….don't know. Probably not."

"…..ummm….."

"By the way, what the hell just happened?!", asked Xiahou Dun.

"We….we are not entirely sure either.", said Yue Jin.

"After the entire palace transformed, we just tried to observe this place…but then…..", said Li Dian.

"…..something…..chased us.", continued Jia Xu. Xiahou Dun's eyes widened. "Some…..thing?"

"Yes. We…..we are not even sure what it is.", said Xiahou Yuan.

"The thing was, it certainly tried to kill all of us. Most of us aren't lucky…..who are the ones who got hung up there now.", said Li Dian.

"What?!", said Xiahou Dun in horror. "You mean…..you four are the only survivors?!"

"Yeah…..probably.", answered Xiahou Yuan.

"And, what's even worse is…we don't know whether that 'thing' will appear and chase us again.", said Jia Xu.

"Hrm….what does that 'thing' look like?", asked Xiahou Dun.

"We can't make out most of its face. It was obscured by shadows, but…..", said Yue Jin.

"The thing was, it carried a lot of floating, bloody knives that it used to kill a bunch of us.", continued Li Dian.

The answer shocked Xiahou Dun. It was….it was the same thing that chased me earlier!

"No…no way…..that creature chased me earlier!"

"It did?!", asked Xiahou Yuan.

"Yeah! I managed to get away, though barely….."

"I wonder if it will come again…..actually, let me rephrase that, I wonder if it will NOT come again….", said Yue Jin.

"Well….the sure sign that it's near us is when the environment around us gets warped….", said Jia Xu.

And all of a sudden, a loud noise was heard.

"Did you hear that?!", asked Yue Jin.

"Yes. We all do."

"Oh no….is it that thing again?!", said Li Dian.

"It probably is…..you know what, let's not waste any time. We have to run now!", said Xiahou Dun. And thus everyone started to run away from what was possibly the shadowy creature. Much to their misfortune, though, it turns out that the direction they were running to was exactly the place where the shadowy creature spawned.

"…oops."

"SHIT! Everybody, RUN!", ordered Xiahou Dun. And so everybody ran as fast as they could, away from the shadowy creature.

However, Xiahou Yuan was the first to be the creature's victim. The creature quickly got hold of him, and ripped his head off with its own hands.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

"YUAN! Tch, EVERYONE! RUN!", instructed Xiahou Dun. The rest of the five were fortunate enough to last longer than Xiahou Yuan, and they finally came to hide behind a wall.

"Huff….huff….pant…."

"Alright….don't make any sound.", whispered Xiahou Dun. Everyone nodded. And then, the creature came searching for them. Fortunately for the four, the creature seemed to have lost them, and thus left. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay…it's fortunate that it managed to lost us.", said Xiahou Dun.

"Yeah."

"Okay…...huff…now, let's go again. We'll try to find a way out of this place.", said Xiahou Dun.

"Got it."

And then the four proceeded to walk travelling the maze corridors, again. For a long time they have walked around, it seemed unknown how much time has passed.

"….hey guys…..how long have we been walking for, anyway?", asked Yue Jin.

"…"

"…..we don't know.", said Xiahou Dun.

"Yeah…..furthermore, where are we going to, anyway?", said Li Dian.

"I know….this maze seems to have no end….it's almost as if it's looping themselves.", said Jia Xu.

"Tch….."

And then, the four came to a branching path.

"Should we split up?", asked Li Dian. Unexpectedly, he was slapped by Yue Jin instead. "OW! Hey, what's that for?!"

"Splitting up? Are you insane?! Come on, now! That thing might have been still around, and if we split up, one of us will be killed!"

"He does have a point.", said Jia Xu.

"Then what should we do?", asked Li Dian.

"Hmmmm…..", Xiahou Dun thought for a while. "We'll decide which path seems safer. So, Jia Xu….you decide which one seems to be the correct path."

"Hmmm…..we'll take a path to the right."

"How do you seem so sure?", asked Xiahou Dun.

"Well, the thing is….there seems to be a bit of air of uneasiness coming from the left path….which must be from that thing warping the environment around him."

"That being so….okay, men, let's go to the right!", ordered Xiahou Dun.

"Got it!"

And so the four men took the path to the right. And they were walking down a particularly narrow hallway that seemed to get narrower and narrower the further they walk.

"…..uhmm…..my lord?", asked Yue Jin.

"What?"

"Why does it seem like the hallway's getting….narrower?"

"It is?"

"I feel the same, my lord.", said Li Dian.

"But, what should we do? Should we just get back, especially since Master Jia Xu said that the other path is where the creature is?", said Yue Jin.

"Well….to be frank it was only MY deduction….."

"Just stay calm for a while! Geez….hm, I saw another turn there. So keep on going!"

And so the four later turned to left. They continued to walk until they reached a dead end.

"Oh, crap.", mumbled Xiahou Dun.

"Well….what should we do now?", asked Yue Jin.

"Hmmm….I don't know….let me think….."

However, suddenly, a loud, screeching, distorted noise was heard throughout the hallway.

"Aaargh! …."

"What was that?", asked Yue Jin.

"I don't know….but something's telling me that it's NOT going to be good.", asked Li Dian.

And then, after a brief moment of silence, a demonic hand sprouted from the floor and grabbed Yue Jin's leg.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"WHAT?!"

"GAH! Yue Jin!", Li Dian ran to help Yue Jin, but to no avail as he and Yue Jin were both pulled to the ground by a dark, nightmarish creature below.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

"YUE JIN! LI DIAN!", screamed Xiahou Dun and Jia Xu. And then, chunks of Yue Jin's and Li Dian's body part were thrown back to the ground, much to the horror of the two remaining survivors.

"ARKH! What the…..", they both stared in complete shock and horror as a dark whirlpool formed on the floor and rose, revealing itself to be the creature they've been running from the entire time.

"Oh, FUCK! RUN!", and so the two ran away from the creature, though to their misfortune, they were both captured.

"ARGH! AAAAHHH! Let me GO!"

And then, the creature proceeded to unleash a whirlwind of dark energy, which consumed the entire hallway.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!"

.

.

.

"…..unggghhhhhhhhh…"

Xiahou Dun felt a terrible headache upon waking up. He got up and looked around, and realized that he's been transported back to the palace.

"….what the? I'm…..back here….again?", he mumbled. He tried to get up, although he still felt a terrible headache.

"….where's Jia Xu? Wait, so….that creature….killed everyone…..except us? Ngh…."

And so he got up when he heard a scream across the hallway.

"Gasp! Who's there?!", Xiahou Dun then ran towards the source, desperately hoping that this nightmare would end soon….

 _ **To Be Continued….**_

* * *

Okay! I suppose this will be the second-to-last (main) chapter. Please leave a review and have a good day!


	8. Hollow Dreams

_Chapter 8: Hollow Dreams_

* * *

Xiahou Dun turned left and found a huge writing in blood on the wall.

 **IT'S OVER…..**

"It's over? …what?", he mumbled. And then he heard a voice from behind. Quite a familiar one, at that.

"Lord Xiahou Dun!", Xiahou Dun turned and saw that it was Jia Xu. "Jia Xu! You're here! But….."

"Yeah, I know," Jia Xu interrupted before Xiahou Dun could continue. "That thing…..has probably killed everyone besides two of us. But….it's strange…it trapped us in that weird hallway. But….why did it transport us here, unharmed?"

"That's what I'm questioning as well.", said Xiahou Dun. "Also….look at this.", he said while pointing at the writing on the wall."

"….huh. Who wrote that?"

"I don't know. But….at least….at least if it's right, we can….we can finally escape this nightmare…at last…."

"…but wait a minute. If…..if someone wrote this, that means…..that means…."

And then, the two heard a loud scream from the other side.

"GASP!"

"….you heard that?", asked Jia Xu.

"Yeah…looks like we aren't the only survivor, after all.", said Xiahou Dun. Both ran after the source but stopped when they saw someone walking limply towards them.

"Gasp! …who are you?"

The person left a trail of blood where he walked. It turned out to be Xun Yu.

"Nghh…my…lord!"

"XUN YU?! What….what the hell happened?!", asked Xiahou Dun. Xun Yu was heavily injured and impaled by various things, with only barely enough strength to walk.

"Guhh…..argh!", Xun Yu suddenly collapsed.

"Gasp! Xun Yu!", Xiahou Dun ran after Xun Yu to help him, but was slapped by Xun Yu instead. "OW!"

"DON'T! Go….GO AWAY FROM ME!"

"What the….hey, what's wrong with you?!", asked Jia Xu.

"It's…..it's too late now. You hear that?"

"Too late? What do you mean?!"

"It's…..it's come. HE'S COME! ….we're doomed now, my lord. We're doomed.", said Xun Yu as he stood up. Xiahou Dun was utterly baffled.

"Too…..late? You say?!"

"Indeed. I….I've finally met 'them'. And now I understand why they came. They held me, and attempted to kill me, and I barely escaped…..but they're still after me. They're still after me and you."

"What the…but, you said that victory is ours! That victory is ALREADY ours! That we will win against the-"

"WELL, HOW CAN WE WIN AGAINST THEM IF WE CAN'T EVEN WIN AGAINST OURSELVES!", Xun Yu suddenly shouted before profusely coughing up blood from his injuries.

"Wha….what the hell do you mean?!"

"My lord…..I think you're pretty sure about the answer already. About your relationship with Lord Cao Cao….everything you've done for him…."

Xiahou Dun's eyes widened. _No. No way. Not this again!_

"What the-"

"I know that no matter what you do….you just can't get him out of your life. You need him. No….not you….we. Once he's gone…everything falls apart."

"What….."

"And don't even try to deny it, my lord. This….this is us. A bunch of pathetic fools whose hearts shatter the moment the person we care about goes away like a lightning. And from then, we can't even function anymore. Held down and bound by the haunting memories of that very same person. And….no matter what we do, no matter where we ran to to hide and repress those memories, to deny the fact that we're useless pieces of garbage….they will come to us with twice the power before to reduce us into a wreck. That. That, is us."

Xiahou Dun was still too stunned to answer when a loud screeching noise was heard from the other side.

"What?!", and, at that moment, Xun Yu pulled out a knife. An identical one to the one Xiahou Dun carried, at that.

"Wait, what are you-", asked Xiahou Dun when he saw Xun Yu pulling the knife.

"Shouldn't it be obvious, my lord? They're….they're coming for us. Don't you understand what that means, my lord? We've lost. We've…..lost."

"Wait….what?!"

"I've….I've already known of this, my lord. Since day one, I know we can't get away from them, no matter what we do! You….you tried to give me encouragement, convincing me that there must be SOME way of winning this. So….one day….one day I thought that you're probably right. I thought we can finally win, after all. But no. I've met them. And from that moment on, I know that I was right after all. Do, do you see this, my lord?", Xun Yu showed Xiahou Dun the knife he was carrying. Unlike Xiahou Dun's, however, it was completely clean without any blood.

"…wait…that's…"

"Heh….correct. This….this is the symbol of our shame. The symbol of our weakness. The thing that we tried to use to escape reality….but we couldn't. But now….now that they've come, everything is over. This nightmare…..has come to an end."

And then, Xun Yu took the knife in front of his throat.

"What the- XUN YU! What in the name of our ancestors are you doing?!"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK?! I've….I've told you. Everything has come to an end. And so….this is the one thing I can do, at the very least, to achieve my one last bliss…."

"What the- you can't be serious! Look, there's still something we can-"

"WHAT ELSE WE CAN DO?! We can't win! Can't you see, my lord?! We've lost! We've lost against them, because we've already lost against OURSELVES. This….this is the only way I can redeem myself, after being tortured….for so long."

Xun Yu looked up to the ceiling and cried while holding the knife in front of his throat.

"Xun Yu, I'm begging you-!", Xiahou Dun attempted to run after Xun Yu.

"My lord, Cao Cao…forgive me….."

But it was too late. Xun Yu stabbed his throat with the knife and dropped dead, with his blood splattered across Xiahou Dun's face. Both Jia Xu and Xiahou Dun witnessed the whole thing with utter shock, disbelief, and horror.

But it was more than just that for Xiahou Dun. He cradled Xun Yu's corpse and noticed how he died with a smile. At that moment, he just couldn't take it anymore. He cried while holding Xun Yu's body close to him.

"Hsk….hsk…no….NO! Why….why did you have to do this…aaahhhh….AAHHHHH!"

It was the second time Xiahou Dun ever experienced this feeling. The moment that his heart just felt like being shattered and stepped on to the point that he couldn't even function anymore. The feeling that he had when he learned that his lord, his cousin, and his friend, Cao Cao, is dead.

"Sniff…this can't be happening…..THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Xiahou Dun's scream was heard throughout the palace, and to the ears of a shadowy figure hiding among the hallways. The figure cried for a little bit, before wiping it off and smirked.

"So, it's time….", it whispered.

And suddenly, the dried blood used in the writing on the wall began to flow, much to Jia Xu's shock.

"Hm? Huh? Wait, what? My lord!", he said to Xiahou Dun. Xiahou Dun, who was still crying, turned over.

"What?"

"Look! The writing!"

Xiahou Dun turned to see that the blood now formed a new writing.

 **FAREWELL…**

The blood continued to flow in increasingly large amounts until it moved to envelope Xun Yu's body.

"Huh?! Xun Yu!"

The blood continued to fully consume Xun Yu's body before turning into a huge whirlwind of black mist.

"W-what in the-?!"

The whirlwind revealed itself to be the shadowy creature that chased them from earlier. Both Xiahou Dun and Jia Xu widened their eyes in shock.

"….no….no way!", said Jia Xu.

"You again?! You fu-", said Xiahou Dun, though he was interrupted by the creature, which suddenly unleashed a massive whirlwind of black mist that obstructed Xiahou Dun and Jia Xu.

"Argh! Dammit! GAH! I….can't see anything!", said Xiahou Dun.

"Urgh….akh!", Jia Xu turned left and was suddenly dragged away by something else. "AAAKH!"

"Gah! Jia Xu?!", said Xiahou Dun when he noticed that Jia Xu was gone, but the whirlwind kept getting stronger and stronger to the point when he couldn't take it anymore, in which the whirlwind fully consumed him.

"Aaahhrghh….ahhh….AAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

.

.

.

"Unghhh…."

Everything around Xiahou Dun seemed so blurry. His head felt stirring and it took a while for him to recognize the place around him. And it was the moment when his heart dropped.

"….it's…..the throne room….."

And immediately all the horrible memories came back to him. This….this place was where everything went downhill. That night, that very moment when Xiahou Dun came to investigate the throne room, only to find Xun Yu cradling Cao Cao's corpse surrounded by fire. And the sight of Cao Cao's corpse itself, which proved itself to Xiahou Dun to be too overwhelming for him to handle.

"Argh….no…..NO! STOP IT! AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

And only after a while that Xiahou Dun calmed down. He picked up a candle next to him since the rest of the room was too dark. And then he noticed on the wall the same writing in blood as before.

"'Victory is ours'….", he muttered. It immediately reminded him of Xun Yu, which he quickly brushed off. "No, no….I have to remain calm….."

He then noticed blood trail that seemed to lead to the throne. He followed it and almost fell over when he found a corpse of a peacock, placed on the throne.

"What…..the fuck?", he muttered. He carefully stepped towards the corpse and wanted to touch it, when suddenly a voice called out to him.

"So, you've finally reached this far."

Xiahou Dun felt as if his heart stopped. It was a familiar voice. A very familiar one.

"…huh?"

"It's quite impressive, to be honest. Being able to run away from that thing. But it doesn't matter. At the end….this matter will be between you, and me."

At first, Xiahou Dun couldn't believe it. No, there's simply no way it could be happening. But, after getting this far, Xiahou Dun knew, that he simply couldn't deny anything that was happening around him anymore. No, he had to face it. And so, he turned around. To face that familiar face.

"….Guo Jia."

The other person chuckled. "Hm...it's always good to see you again, my lord."

"Guo Jia…..I've never thought this day would come. Nor would I expect it to. So, now, Guo Jia…explain! Explain everything! What did you do?! What the everloving hell has just happened all this time?!"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down there, my lord….don't you know that inquiring truth needs time?"

Xiahou Dun widened his eyes at utter disbelief. For some reason, the person currently standing quite a few distance away in front of him didn't feel like his trusted, loyal advisor he used to rely on anymore. Someone using his appearance, yes, but not…..him.

Whatever it was, something inside Guo Jia had changed.

"You see, my lord…..at first, I was like you. Infact, weren't we all? We were all running away from the truth during that day, this place. Like the rest of you, I foolishly deluded myself into thinking that just by trying to work this kingdom into better, everything will turn out okay. But…as you can see yourself, it was never that simple."

Guo Jia walked closer towards Xiahou Dun. "I'm just like the rest of you. We are all so connected, so devoted to our former Lord's cause that when he was finally gone for good, we flat-out can't accept it. No! Instead, we went the rest of our days believing that we moved on…..but we never did. They'll always come back, looking for us, to grab our hearts and shatter them even further than what was already left. The more we attempt to deny it, the more of us will fall apart when it comes again after us. You still with me?"

"Eh?"

"Right. So…..all this time, we kept seeing things. We kept seeing things that we shouldn't even be allowed to see. We then starts thinking what they could possibly be…..ghosts, demons, other kind of supernatural forces, you name it…..but the thing is, we got it all wrong. Whatever we've seen, all this time, are not some kind of incomprehensible force out to destroy us. It's always been with us, the entire this. We just refused to comprehend it. But, as I said before, no matter how we run away from it….it will get us."

And at that moment, Guo Jia pulled out from behind him a knife, which startled Xiahou Dun a little.

"Gasp!"

"I want you take a good look at this."

"….what…no way…."

"Rather familiar, don't you think?"

Indeed, it was the same identical knife that Xiahou Dun, and Xun Yu had. At this point it baffled Xiahou Dun how the three of them could have the same identical knife that Xiahou Dun almost used to kill Cao Cao back then. And this time, Guo Jia's knife was bloody, like Xiahou Dun's.

"This…I found this one day, just laid down on my table. I was terrified by it. I have never used or even seen it, let alone murdered someone with it. I attempted to wash away the blood so that no one could notice. But the blood…..the blood just won't go away. And then I put it under my bed. But everything just went worse from there on. Until that day. Do you remember it, my lord? The day after you locked me for 40 days? The day I suddenly cried out that you, were Lord Cao Cao's killer?"

Xiahou Dun was stunned, though he tried to remain calm. "Y-yes….."

"That moment….that moment, I thought I saw you brutally killing Lord Cao Cao himself on his bed. But that was only because I was just so out of my mind from you locking me inside your room for 40 days that I immediately started accusing you, never minding the fact that you're my lord. But…..until then, I realized that it was just me trying to hide from reality."

At this point, Xiahou Dun started to know what was truly up. Still, he tried to remain calm.

"Huh…..so?" Unexpectedly, Guo Jia burst out laughing.

"Oh….really?! My lord, you still don't get it yet?!" Guo Jia proceeded to laugh like a deranged maniac for the next 5 minutes or so, which thoroughly disturbed Xiahou Dun himself, before being much more serious.

"The thing was…..that vision proceeded to haunt me for quite a few time. It's only after you left that I started to really question whether that vision was real or not. And then I immediately felt guilty for just immediately accusing you of killing Lord Cao Cao, no matter how utterly nonsensical, or even delusional, that would be. So, suddenly, my mind immediately shifted towards the knife that I hid under my bed. The knife in which I can't wash the blood away of. I went to my room, and took that knife. I contemplated it, for a long time…..until I saw it."

Guo Jia smirked before looking at the knife, and then suddenly cutting his finger with it.

"Gasp!"

"I finally learned the truth…..the reason why the blood on this knife won't be washed away. The reason why I saw you killing Lord Cao Cao. Why, of course…..because I did it."

That was the moment. Xiahou Dun stared deep into Guo Jia's eyes with utter disbelief. The very fact that his, no, Cao Cao's most trusted advisor killed his own lord….Xiahou Dun was sure his nightmare hasn't ended. Infact, it may had even just started.

"…..you killed him?"

"Yes….all the things I did was me, trying to desperately, and futilely running away from my guilt. Of course…..you can't run away. You never can."

Xiahou Dun wasn't even sure how he was feeling at this point. A truly messy mix of rage, disbelief, and sadness were raging inside his heart. Still, whatever it was, it took full control on Xiahou Dun, causing him to unconsciously suddenly run after and grab Guo Jia by his throat.

"ARKH! …kkkhhh….agkh…"

"Pant….pant…..you…..YOU BASTARD! TRAITOR! How…..HOW COULD YOU EVEN DO SUCH THING?! Pant…pant…..fucking….fucking BASTARD! All this years of serving him, who's been nothing but nice to you, AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY HIM?! YOU SCUM! FILTH! YOU DESERVE TO DIE!"

Xiahou Dun then took out his knife to attempt to kill Guo Jia. Guo Jia, however, quickly replied, "AHH! NO! My lord, NO! Please, LISTEN!"

"WHY?! WHY SHOULD I LISTEN TO YOU ANYMORE?! I….I trusted you. WE TRUSTED YOU!"

"NO! My lord…please…I know, I know I killed Lord Cao Cao and deserve to die for that. But….don't you wish to know the reason why I did so?"

"….."

Xiahou Dun then let Guo Jia go, with the latter coughing and wheezing. Xiahou Dun sighed, and said, "Well….go on."

"Hm, right...I still remember the day when Lord Cao Cao became sick. You were the one who told me about it, and of course, I immediately went to him to see his condition. I was so worried about his condition….but, he told me that everything would be fine. And then, as days went by, his condition became worse, and it seemed that he was beyond saving. I went to him, asked him what if he were to die, and he said the same thing too. I was essentially the same as you, my lord."

"…"

"But the difference is…..when Lord Cao Cao said that his legacy would remain even after his passing, unlike you, I actually accepted it. I didn't proceed to cry about it for the next few days or so like the little bitch you are. I accepted the fact that death was coming for Lord Cao Cao, and that we, are the ones to continue his legacy. So….when you told me that day that the medicine you were giving him, in a desperate, mad hope to get him better way past beyond the point of regular condition, instead only put him in a worse state of not being dead, and yet not even alive either…I've actually hated you ever since."

"….w-wha?"

"That's right. I….I honestly expected better from you, my lord, as the most trusted right hand-man of Lord Cao Cao. And yet, you simply couldn't accept the fact that he was dying, and that he actually embraced it, placing hope in all of us, as Wei officers, to maintain his legacy. No, you only cared for yourself and couldn't bear to lose him. Even if he was essentially a breathing corpse, you didn't care. You only wanted him for yourself. Just passing by his room everyday, and then seeing that he hasn't awoken yet, with you, telling me that he's been in a coma for 2 days or so….it…it tore me up from the inside. But of course, what did you know?"

"What the….what did you just fucking say?! You think I did all of this for myself?! Are you insane?!"

"Heh. You're the one to talk!", Guo Jia walked closer. "So, finally….I couldn't take it anymore. I walked up to his room, with this knife in hand. I saw him, still sleeping, like he's always been. Then…..I did it. I used this to finish the job. His suffering was finally gone. I granted him the death that he's been denied by you!"

And all of a sudden, Xiahou Dun was immediately reminded how this was exactly what he intended to do at the first place. After he desperately tried to save Cao Cao's life, he quickly found how it only made his condition worse. So, that day, he attempted to give Cao Cao bliss by ending his life himself. But, unlike Guo Jia, Xiahou Dun stopped. Because, no matter what happened, he still couldn't bear seeing Cao Cao die.

"I…..I think you misunderstood me."

"What? I mean, are you denying all the things I've said to you?"

"No, I do not! I mean….yes, I know….I know I'm a selfish person. I never wanted Cao Cao to die. So, to see him like that…put a heavy burden on my soul. I did everything I could to keep him alive. Even using that medicine….but, later I realized that what I did only caused more problems. So….I intended to end his life, right and there. But the only thing that that knife managed to cut open, was my own flesh...and the only thing it managed to kill…was my own soul."

Unexpectedly, Guo Jia laughed.

"Right. See? That's really how much of a coward you are. You couldn't even bear to release Lord Cao Cao from his suffering! And, in the end…..I was the one who finished what you've started! Hah!"

"Tch!"

"But…..but…..", suddenly, Guo Jia's expression turned grim. He then laughed again like a deranged maniac before talking again. "But….well, it's quite funny, really. When….when I finally did it, I moved his body to the throne room, to hide the fact that I killed him. But….but then…..when I moved back to my room, the image, the vividness of the experience…..it ravaged my mind. It wrecked me so thoroughly that I broke down crying without even first realizing why. And then, I just…..I just blacked out. And when I woke up, I didn't remember anything. And then…..well, I suppose you're right. I suppose you're right, saying that we're useless without Lord Cao Cao. Indeed we are!"

Guo Jia walked towards the writing on the wall.

"'Victory is ours'…..heh. How foolish I was when I used his blood to write this, thinking that everything would be okay. But no. It never got okay. Even after that incident, I have always heard something inside me, whispering quietly to me, 'This is your punishment', indeed, my punishment for thinking that I had authority to govern over someone's life, to prevent someone close to that person to attempt saving that person!"

"Guo Jia, wha-"

"I, AM THE REAL FOOL HERE, LORD XIAHOU DUN! CAN'T YOU SEE?!"

"Ah….."

"…heh….hehehehehehe….", unknowingly, tears started flow on Guo Jia's face. "Yeah….I think, I think I get it here…I was, am, and will always be foolish. No, both of us are foolish. One won't even simply let his lord die in bliss and had to prolong his suffering for it, and the other thought that killing them would do them a favor."

"….Guo Jia…."

Guo Jia turned towards Xiahou Dun.

"….it's all over now, my lord."

"Huh?"

"It's over now….there really is nothing to do anymore, other than to wait for ourselves to rot and die. Lord Cao Cao isn't here anymore. Anyone else is also dead. Only two of us…..two pathetic men governed by feelings, who can't even grasp the fact that their lord is dead, and is even actively warping reality around them to hide from that fact. Both of us are done for."

And then Guo Jia walked closer towards Xiahou Dun, with his knife raised.

"….urm…Guo Jia? W-what are you doing?!"

"What else is there, my lord? We both know that we are useless without Lord Cao Cao. So….to end our suffering…..I'll just have to kill both of us."

"WHAT?! No, sto-"

With a maniacal grin, Guo Jia swung his knife at Xiahou Dun, which only managed to cut his face.

"ARGH!"

"Hehehehe….hahahahaha…..HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! DIE!"

And then Guo Jia went for another swing. This time, Xiahou Dun managed to completely dodge it and then swung his own knife, which was blocked by Guo Jia.

"Tch! Please….Guo Jia! STOP THIS!"

"HAH! Why should I?! Infact, you should be thankful!"

"TCH!"

Xiahou Dun managed to overpower Guo Jia and attempted to grab him. Unfortunately Guo Jia dodged him and managed to stab him in the stomach.

"ARGH!", Xiahou Dun was thrown aback and started coughing up blood. Infact, Guo Jia stabbed him in his old wound, the wound that he inflicted on himself after failing to kill Cao Cao.

"Tch…."

"Heh…an old wound reopened, eh? Indeed….I suppose that should be your reminder of that day….the day you chickened out of killing our lord…..but that doesn't matter. After I'm done, there'll be no suffering anymore."

"Tch….HYAH!", Xiahou Dun swiftly used his knife to wound Guo Jia's leg, making him limp.

"AKH!"

"Guo Jia…please! Is this really what Cao Cao would've wanted?!"

Guo Jia smirked and laughed at the question.

"Hah…..how ironic fate turned out to be for both of us. Or hypocritical, maybe. YOU asked ME THIS question, even with you acknowledging that you're useless without Lord Cao Cao?! Besides, who cares about Lord Cao Cao anymore?! He's dead! Dead people can't govern the living!"

And so the two continued to struggle, with Xiahou Dun merely wanting to have a talk with Guo Jia, sho was trying to murder him, to simply stop this nonsense. Two continued to fight until the two were completely bruised and battered, and lacking any strength to go on.

"Pant…..pant….akh….tch!"

"Please….why….why won't you listen?!", asked Xiahou Dun.

"I'm doing this for the good of us! Can't you see?! Do you….do you really wanna go on this life, despite fully knowing that we're not worth shit without Lord Cao Cao!"

"Then why don't we at least TRY?!"

"Huh?"

"Pant…pant…", Xiahou Dun walked – or, more accurately, dragged his body across the floor – towards Guo Jia.

"Pant…listen….pant….I know. I know….I know I've been really foolish all this time. I know I've been doing exactly the opposite of what Cao Cao wanted! But….but….we're not dead yet. Since we're not dead, we….we always have a second chance. This way…this way we can atone for our mistakes as well….so that, at least….he'll look upon us, with a smile…"

"My lord…"

"So, please…."

"…."

"So, please…stop all of thi-"

Unfortunately, before Xiahou Dun could finish, he found his chest being stabbed by Guo Jia, who was grinning maniacally.

"Arkh…orgkh…."

"I'm sorry, my lord, but…..for fools like us, there is no second chance.", Guo Jia pulled his knife out and let Xiahou Dun fall to the floor.

"AKH! Guh…..no…..why…."

"Pant…..I…..I did it, my lord…"

Xiahou Dun's vision was slowly becoming dark. Despite that, he could see that the last thing he saw before his vision become completely black, was Guo Jia stabbing himself with the knife.

"AKH! …Lord Cao Cao…"

We are…

We're back, my lord…

…..

.

.

.

After that, Xiahou Dun found himself in a completely featureless black void. There was nothing…..endlessly nothing.

"…where am I? Am I….dead? I'm pretty sure….I am….after that…."

He then walked along, and suddenly reminisces his childhood memories with Cao Cao.

"Hey, Dun! Come on, you gotta catch up!"

* * *

 _"Gah, wait!_

 _"Geez, you're so slow!"_

* * *

"Where….am I…", he said as he continued to walk along.

* * *

 _"Pant…pant….seriously! You're too fast!"_

 _"But that's only because you never exercised!"_

 _"Tch! I'll get back at you for that!"_

* * *

"Tch…..why…..is this place neverending?!", Xiahou Dun ran faster, but the black void around him just seemed to have no end.

* * *

 _"Hahaha….oh well. By the way, didn't you vow to always be at my side?"_

* * *

Xiahou Dun continued to run until there was a sudden spotlight lighting down a closet. "Wait…isn't that my closet?"

* * *

 _"Huh. Did I?"_

Xiahou Dun walked closer to the closet, and there was a sort of unpleasant aura radiating from it. "….why is this here?"

* * *

 _"Yeah. You vowed to always be with me, to protect me and fulfill my needs!"_

 _"Yeah I did, but not like this!"_

* * *

He then opened the drawer, and inside he found Cao Cao's corpse.

"…what in the?!"

* * *

 _"Hahaha! Just kidding. Why don't we sit on a hill over there?"_

* * *

"…..no way…..Cao Cao?", Xiahou Dun looked at the corpse. It looked clean and pristine as if Cao Cao had died recently.

* * *

 _"By the way, Xiahou Dun."_

 _"What?"_

 _"Are you scared of death?"_

* * *

Xiahou Dun reached to touch the corpse, but almost had a heart attack when the corpse suddenly decomposed, revealing maggots eating away his corpse. "AAAAAHHHH! ….."

* * *

 _"Huh? That's an odd question to ask. Of course I am!"_

 _"Why?"_

 _"Why, because if we die, we'll lose everything!"_

* * *

"…", Xiahou Dun watched the maggots eating Cao Cao's corpse until it was nothing but a skeleton. He was still utterly confused as to why he would have Cao Cao's corpse inside his closet. And even more, he was sure that the corpse looked like it had been stabbed, which was how Cao Cao was killed.

* * *

 _"Is that so? But…if you die with your loved one? It won't be so sad, wouldn't it?"_

 _"Ehm? ….yeah…I suppose…."_

* * *

He then examined the skeleton further and found a knife inside the closet. The very same knife that he tried to use to kill Cao Cao, and the one Guo Jia actually succeeded in killing Cao Cao with.

* * *

 _"So, yeah…..I suppose, if you're with someone you love, not even death becomes scary anymore."_

* * *

"Huh?", Xiahou Dun picked it up and stared at it. And upon that moment, Xiahou Dun immediately understood everything. He finally realized the actual truth. And thus, tears flowed from his eyes.

* * *

 _"Is that some sort of a hint?"_

* * *

Xiahou Dun lifted the knife up, in front of his throat, still crying.

* * *

 _"Well, not really, just asking…but, Xiahou Dun?"_

 _"Huh?"_

 _"You'll always be together with me, right?"_

* * *

He closed his eyes. "Cao Cao…cousin…..I…"

* * *

 _"Huh? Of course! You said that twice already!"_

 _"Even in death?"_

 _"Huh?"_

 _"Even in death…..will you still be together with me?"_

 _"I'm…..sorry…."_

 _"Yes! Of course I will!"_

* * *

"…."

.

.

.

"Ngggghhhhh…..where am I?"

Xiahou Dun found himself waking up, yet again, in the throne room.

"What the….no way….how am I suddenly back here again?"

He walked along, and found a mirror on the ground.

"A mirror?", he picked it up, and was beyond horrified upon looking at his reflection that he immediately dropped it, cracking it.

"AAAHHHHH! …what the….no, no no no no no no no….."

He then looked downwards to look at what he's become. No matter how many times he'd looked, he still couldn't believe it.

"No…..way….Cao Cao?!"

And at that moment, a mysterious figure walked up towards him. The figure then held up a knife.

"How could this possibly be…."

Feeling suspicious, Xiahou Dun turned around, and found him.

"...wait, who are you-"

.

.

.

 **THE END**

* * *

WHOOH! Finally! Fucking finished this fic at last! **trumpets**

But, yeah, that was it…..my first attempt at a dead-serious themed story. I hope you enjoyed it.

And, well, even though this is technically the end, I'm still planning to add a bonus chapter of sorts, which I intend to provide a new perspective to the whole thing and (hopefully) what was ACTUALLY going on.

Nevertheless, thank you so much for reading this fic from beginning to the end! Please leave a review and have a good day!

17/7/17 UPDATE: Okay, so...I said that I intended to add a bonus chapter that was told under the perspective of other characters. But the thing is, I am now sorta unsure how to build the structure to it, not to mention that it turned out to be far longer than what I intended it to be.

So...I'm probably not gonna finish it for the time being, which means that this fic is now actually finished. Still, if I find time, I'm gonna try and finish it.

Other than that, with this fic complete, I'm gonna go on another hiatus. I have no ideas for a new fic at the moment, though I will upload a special one-shot at August 11th, then go on another hiatus again. I don't know - I'm probably gonna take a break writing fics until DW9 is out. I have been pretty exhausted with writing fics as of recently, likely due to the lack of ideas or other activities and hobbies that I do beside writing fics.

So, thank you so much for you guys for reading my fics for more than a year since I started writing fics on thsi website. Your support and love means so much for me. So, again, thank you so much! I hope all of you have a wonderful day! So, for the time being, GOOD BYE~


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